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fae, EXPANSION OF 
SMRISTIANITY IN THE 
FIRST THREE CENTURIES 


e 


BY 


ADOLF HARNACK 


PROFESSOR OF CHURCH HISTORY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF BERLIN, AND 
MEMBER OF THE ROYAL PRUSSIAN ACADEMY 


Translated and edited by 


JAMES MOFFATT, B.D., D.D. (St ANpREws) 


VOL. EL. 


NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS 
LONDON: WILLIAMS AND NORGATE 
1905 





PerrA TORY NOTE TO VOL, II. 





SEVERAL additions and corrections, chiefly relating 
to the geographical data, which have been forwarded 
by the author, are incorporated in this volume. 
In the first volume the reader is requested to 
substitute, on page 173 (line 13 from top), ‘“ that 
those” for “those that”; on page 203 (line 7 from 
foot), “Cilicia” for “ Cicilia”; on page 218 (line 7 
from top), “ep.” for “ch.”; on page 338 (line 13 from 
top), “ Plin.” for “ Phin.” ; also on page 453 (line 3 
from foot), “ Synnada” for “ Synada.” 

To the list of serious reviews, one has now to 
add those by J. Reéville (Revue de histoire des 
Religions, March-April 1904) and G. M. (Revue 
int. de Théologie, April-June 1904). 

JAMES MOFFATT. 





TABLE OF CONTENTS 





BOOK III. 
PAGES 
Cuaprer III. Toe Names or CuristiAN BELIEVERS . 1-24 
Excursus I. “ Frrenps” (¢/Xor). : . 25-34 
Excursus II. Curistian NAmMEs. : : , 35-45 
Cuarrer IV. THe ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN 
CoMMUNITY, AS BEARING UPON THE CuristiAN Mission. 
Tue Episcopate . : : ‘ : \ . 46-63 
Excursus. EcciesiasticAL ORGANIZATION AND THE 
EpiscopatTE, FROM Pius 'ro CoNsTaNTINE . 64-114 
Cuarrer V. Counrer-Movements: (1) Persrecurions ; 
(2) Hostme Verpicrs—Lirerary Arracks . . 115-142 
Conctusion. REASONS FOR AND AGAINST THE 
ACCEPTANCE OF THE CuHRIsTIAN RELIGION . 142-146 


BOOK IV. 
THE SPREAD OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 


Cuarrer I. Generat Evinence For THE EXTENT 
AND INTENSITY OF THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY. 
THe Main Sracres in THE Hisrory oF THE 
Mission . : : x : ‘ : ; . 147-182 


vill CONTENTS 


PAGES 

Cuarrer II. On rue Inwarp Spreap or Curistt- 
ANITY . : , . ; : : ‘ . 183-239 

rs § 1. Amone THE CuLrurED CiassEs (ARrtsTocraTic 
AND OFFICIAL) . ' ; : 3 . 183-192 
= § 2. Ar Courr . f : ; : : . 192-204 
§ 3. In roe Army . ; ; ‘ ; . 204-217 

xs 

3S 4, Amonc Women . : ; : : . 217-238 

Cuaprer II]. THe Extension or CHRISTIANITY DOWN 
ro 325 a.p. . r : : : . : . 240-446 


I. PLaces IN wHICH CuHrIsTIAN CoMMUNITIES OR 
CHRISTIANS CAN BE TRACED AS EARLY AS 
tHE Firsr CEenrury (PREvious To TRAJAN) . 242-244 


Y JI. Priacks wHERE Curisrian CoMMUNITIES CAN 
BE TRACED BEFORE 180 a.p. (@.¢. BEFORE 


THE DratH or Marcus AvrELIUs) ‘ . 244-246 


III. Pracks wHERE CuristiaN CoMMUNITIES CAN 
BE SHOWN TO HAVE EXISTED PREVIOUS 'TO 
325 a.p. (Counci, or Nic#a); TOGETHER 
WITH SOME BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE SPREAD 
oF CHRISTIANITY THROUGHOUT THE VARIOUS 


PROVINCES . : : : : ; . 246-446 
§ 1. PaLesrine : ‘ : ; . 247-271 
§ 2. PHantcia ‘ : : , . 271-276 
§ 3. CorLE-Syria. 3 : : . 276-291 
§ 4. Cyprus. 3 ; . : . 291-292 
§ 5. Eprssa AND THE Easr (Mersoporamia, 
ie Persia, Parruta, AND INpIA) . 292-300 


§ 6. Arazra . : : ; f . 800-304 
§ 7. Eeyrpr anp rHe Tuesats, Linya anp 
PENTAPOLIS . ; ; : . 304-823 


§ 8. Crnicra 
§ 9. Asta Minor In eer es 


CONTENTS 


A. Cappapocia 

B. Armenra, Diospontrus, PAarHia- 
GoNIA, Pontus PoLEMoNIACUs . 

C. Brruynia 

D. Gatatia, PHrycia, AND PIstpIa 


ix 


PAGES 


. 324-326 
. 326-337 
. 338-341 


(wirn LycaoniA) . 356-364 
E. Asta (Lypia, Mysia) anp Caria 364-368 
F. Lycra, Pampuyiia, AnD Isaurta . 368-369 
§ 10. Crere anp THE IsLANDs 370-371 

§ 11. Tracer, Maceponra, Darpania, 
Ertrus, THEssALy, GREECE. 71-376 

§ 12. Masta anp Pannonia, Noricum AND 
DatMatiA ; : . 376-378 

§13. THe Norra anp Norru-Wesr 
Coasts oF THE Brack Sra . . 378-379 

§ 14. Rome, Mippre anp Lower Iraty, 
SiciLy, AND SARDINIA . . 379-395 
§ 15. Uprer Iraty anp THE Romacna_ . 395-398 
§ 16. Gaut, Betctum, Germany, Ruexria 399-409 
§ 17. Encranp . 410-411 

§ 18. Arrica, Numipta, MaureraniA, AND 
"TRIPOLITANA . 411-435 
§ 19. Spain . 435-446 

AprENDIX. THE Spreap oF CuHrIstIANITY AND 
THE SpreAD oF MirHraismM . . 447-451 
Cuaprer IV. Resvtrs . 452-468 
Inpex. (a) New Tesramentr Passaces . 469-472 
(b) GENERAL . 473-478 


(c) GEOGRAPHICAL . . 479-488 
b 


i gt “454 ¢ 
Wien es / 
te ae 
bi LA | : 
> ae? | eimtnl 7 
: Pa F eRtenkt, 
ee 


as p metlEAS - 
ASOT TM A 
t ai ares ye ay be 


a 
Ba by | 
an so" & iu 





The Expansion of Christianity 
in the First Three Centuries 


BOOK II1.— Continued. 


CHAPTER III. 
THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS. 


Jesus called those who gathered round him “ disciples ” 
(uaOyrat); he called himself the ‘“teacher”?* (this is 
historically certain), while those whom he had gathered 
addressed him as teacher,” and described themselves 
as disciples (just as the adherents of John the Baptist 
were also termed disciples of John). From this it 
follows that the relation of Jesus to his disciples 
- during his lifetime was determined, not by the con- 


1 The saying addressed to the disciples in Matt. xxiii. 8 (dpets pu) 
KAnOjte paBBel: cis yap eorw tpav 6 diddoKados, wavres Sé dels 
adeAdoi éore) is very noticeable. One would expect pafyrai instead 
of adeAdoi here; but the latter is quite in place, for Jesus is seeking 
to emphasize the equality of all his disciples and their obligation 
to love one another. It deserves notice, however, that the apostles 
were not termed “disciples,” or at least very rarely, with the 
exception of Paul. 

2 Parallel to this is the term émucrarys, which occurs more than 
once in Luke. 

VOL. Il. 


2 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


ception of messiah, but by that of teacher. As yet 
the messianic dignity of Jesus—only to be revealed 
at his return—remained a mystery of faith still dimly 
grasped, nor did Jesus himself have recourse to it 
until his entry into Jerusalem. 

After the resurrection his disciples witnessed openly 
and confidently to the fact that Jesus was the messiah, 
but they still continued to call themselves “ disciples ” 
—which proves how tenacious names are when once 
they have been affixed. The twelve confidants of 
Jesus were called “the twelve disciples” (or, “the 
twelve”).' From Acts (cp. i, vi., 1X., Xi., XiilL—XVL., 
XVili., xxl.) we learn that although, strictly speaking, 
“disciples” had ceased to be applicable, it was 
retained by Christians for one or two decades as a 
designation of themselves, especially by the Christians 
of Palestine.” Paul never employed it, however, and 
gradually, one observes, the name of of wa6yrai (with 
the addition of tov xvpiov) came to be exclusively 
applied to personal disciples of Jesus, ¢.¢. in the first 
instance to the twelve, and thereafter to others also,* 


1 Oi pabyrai is not a term exclusively reserved for the twelve in 
the primitive age. All Christians were called by this name. The 
term 7 a6yTpia also occurs (ep. Acts ix. 36, and Gosp. Pet. 50). 

2 In Acts xxi. 16 a certain Mnason is called dpyatos pabyris, 
which implies perhaps that he is to be regarded as a personal 
disciple of Jesus, and at any rate that he was a disciple of the first 
generation. One also notes that, according to the source employed 

_ by Epiphanius (Her., xxix. 7), wabyrad was the name of the Christians 
who left Jerusalem for Pella. I should not care to admit that Luke 
is following an unjustifiable archaism in using the term pa@yrai so 
frequently in Acts. 

3 Is not a restriction of the idea voiced as early as Matt. x, 42 
(ds dv motion eva TOV puKpOv TovTwY ToTHpLov Woxpod pdvov eis dvopa 


padyrod) ? 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 3 


as in Papias, Irenzeus, etc. In this way it became a 
title of honour for those who had themselves seen 
the Lord (and also for Palestinian Christians of the 
primitive age in general ?), and who could therefore 
serve as evidence against heretics who subjected the 
person of Jesus to a docetic decomposition. Con- 
fessors and martyrs during the second and _ third 
centuries were also honoured with this high title of 
“disciples of the Lord.” They too became, that is 
to say, personal disciples of the Lord. Inasmuch as 
they attached themselves to him by their confession 
and he to them (Matt. x. 32), they were promoted to 
the same rank as the primitive personal disciples of 
Jesus, being as near the Lord in glory as were the 
latter to him during his earthly sojourn.' 


1 During the period subsequent to Acts it is no longer possible, 
so far as I know, to prove the use of pafyrai (without the addition 
of rod Kupiov or Xpiorod) as a term used by all adherents of Jesus 
to designate themselves; that is, if we leave out of account, of 
course, all passages—and they are not altogether infrequent—in 
which the word is not technical. Even with the addition of rod 
kupiov, the term ceases to be a title for Christians in general by 
the second century. —One must not let oneself be misled by late 
apocryphal books, nor by the apologists of the second century. 
The latter often describe Christ as their teacher, and themselves 
(or Christians generally) as disciples, but this has no connection, 
or at best an extremely loose connection, with the primitive 
terminology. It is moulded, for apologetic reasons, upon the 
terminology of the philosophic schools, just as the apologists chose 
to talk about “dogmas” of the Christian teaching, and “ theology”’ 
(see my Dogmensgeschichte, I.” pp. 482 f.; Eng. trans., ii. 176 f.). 
As everyone is aware, the apologists knew perfectly well that, 
strictly speaking, Christ was not a teacher, but rather lawgiver 
(vopobrns), law (vépos), Logos (Adyos), Saviour (cwryp), and judge 
(kpirjs), so that an expression like xupiaki dudacKadia, or “the Lord’s 
instructions” (apologists and Clem., Strom., VI. xv. 124, VI. xviii. 
165, VII. x. 57, VII. xv. 90, VII. xviii. 165), is not to be adduced 


4 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


The term “ disciples ” fell into disuse, because it no 
longer expressed the relationship in which Christians 
now found themselves placed. It meant at once too 
little and too much. Consequently other terms arose, 
although these did not in every instance pass into 
technical titles. 


as proof that the apologists considered Jesus as in reality their 
teacher. Rather more weight would attach to d:dax7) xvpiov (the 
title of the well-known early catechism), and passages like 1 Clem. 
xiii. 1 (rv Adywv Tod Kupiov “Incotd ods éAdAnoev diddcKov =the 
word of the Lord Jesus which he spoke when teaching); Polye. 2 
(uvypovevovtes dv eimev 6 KUptos dddoKwv =remembering what the 
Lord said as he taught); Ptolem., ad Flor. v. (4 dWacKkadia rod 
awrthnpos); and Apost. Constit., p. 25 (Texte u, Unters., ii, part 5— 
mpoopavtas Tos dyous Tod didacKdAov ypyov=the words of our 
teacher); p. 28 (dre nrnoev 6 diddoKahos Tov dprov= when the teacher 
asked for bread); p. 30 (xpoéAeyev ore édidacKev = he foretold when 
he taught). But, a propos of these passages, we have to recollect 
that the Apostolic Constitutions is a work of fiction, which makes the 
apostles its spokesmen (thus it is that Jesus is termed 6 dddoKados 
in the original document underlying the Constitutions, ie. the 
disciples call him by this name in the fabricated document).—There 
are numerous passages to prove that martyrs and confessors were 
those, and those alone, to whom the predicate of “disciples of 
Jesus” was also attached even already, in the present age, since 
it was they who actually followed and imitated Jesus. Compare, 
e.g., Ignat., ad Ephes. i. (@drilw éxutvxeiv év “Pop Onpropaxjoa, va 
éritvxelv Suv79G pabytis eivac=my hope is to succeed in fighting 
with beasts at Rome, so that I may succeed in being a disciple) ; 
ad Rom. iv. (rote éropor pabyrijs GAnOis tov Xpiorod, ore ovd€ 76 TOpd 
pov 6 Kédcpos dferar=then shall I be a true disciple of Christ, when 
the world no longer sees my body); ad Rom. v. (év tots dducjypacw 
airav padXov pabyrevowar= through their misdeeds I became more 
a disciple than ever); Mart. Polyc. xvii. (tov vidv rod G¢0d zpooxvvodper, 
tovs b€ pdptupas ws pabytras Kat pupnTas TOD KUplov ayamrGpev = We 
worship the Son of God, and love the martyrs as disciples and 
imitators of the Lord). When Novatian founded his puritan church, 
he seems to have tried to resuscitate the idea of every Christian 
being a disciple and imitator of Christ. 


‘THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 5 


The Jews, in the first instance, gave their renegade 
compatriots special names of their own, in particular 
** Nazarenes,” ‘“‘ Galileans,” and probably also “ Poor.” 
But these titles really did not prevail except in small 
circles." 

The Christians called themselves ‘*God’s people,’ 
“ Tsrael in spirit (cata rvedua),” “ the seed of Abraham,” 
“the chosen people,” ‘the twelve tribes,” “the elect,” 


> 


2? 


1 See “the sect of the Nazarenes” (4) tév Nalwpatwy atpeois) in 
Acts xxiv. 5, where Paul is termed their zpoorarys or ringleader. 
The name persisted in Palestine till the fourth century, and perhaps 
even later still (cp. Epiph., Her. i., hom. 1. ad fin.—Nalupaiwv 
6 éeott Xpiotiavav 6 KAnOels ev 6ALyH xpdvw bd “lovdaiwy Xprortiavic- 
poos=the Nazarenes, that is, the Christians—as the Jews have 
called them). Even the Jewish Christians appear to have accepted 
it.—The first disciples of Jesus were described as Galileans (cp. 
Acts i. 11, ii. 7), which primarily was a geographical term to denote 
their origin, but was also intended to throw scorn on the disciples 
as semi-pagans. The name rarely became a technical term, how- 
ever. Epictetus once employed it for Christians (Arrian, Diss., IV. 
vii. 6), Then Julian resurrected it (Greg. Naz., Orat. iv.: katvoropet 
- 6 TovAvavos rept THY mpoonyopiav, VadtAafous avtit XpurtiavOv dvopdcas 
Te Kai karetoGar vopobernaas . . - » dvopa[TadtAaior] trav odk ciwOdTwv) 
and employed it as a term of abuse, although in this as in other 
points he was only following in the footsteps of Maximinus Daza, 
or of his officer Theoteknus, an opponent of Christianity, who 
(according to the Acta Theodoti Ancyrant, c. xxxi.) dubbed Theodotus 
mpootarys Tov TadtAaiwy, or ‘the ringleader of the Galileans.” We 
may assume that the Christians were already called “ Galileans”’ in 
the anti-Christian writings which Daza caused to be circulated, 
although such a conjecture becomes untenable if (as Franchi de’ 
Cavalieri holds) the Theoteknus of the Acta Theodoti is not the 
same as the Theoteknus mentioned by Eusebius in his Church- 
History, and if the Acta are to be taken as subsequent to Julian. 
The Philopatris of pseudo-Lucian, where “Galileans”’ also occurs, 
has nothing whatever to do with our present purpose, as it is 
merely a late Byzantine forgery. With the description of 
Christians as “Galileans,’ however, we may compare the title of 
“ Phrygians” given to the Montanists.—The name “ Ebionites”’ 


6 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


bP 
’ 


“the servants of God,” “believers,” “saints,” 
“brethren,” and “the church of God.”’ Of these 
names the first seven (and others of a similar 
character) never became technical terms taken singly, 
but, so to speak, collectively. They show how the 
new community felt itself to be the heir of all the 
promises and privileges of the Jewish nation. At the 
same time, “the elect ”” and “the servants of God”? 
came very near being technical expressions. 

From the usage and vocabulary of Paul, Acts, and 
later writings,‘ it follows that ‘“ believers” (ao7ot) was 


(or poor) is not quite obvious, but I am more and more convinced 
that the Christian believers most likely got this name from their 
Jewish opponents simply because they were poor, and that they 
accepted the designation. Recently, however, Hilgenfeld has 
followed the church-fathers, Tertullian, Epiphanius (Hear., xxx. 18), 
ete., in holding that the Ebionites must be traced back to a certain 
Ebion, who founded the sect; Dalman also recommends this 
derivation.—Technically, the Christians were never described as 
“the poor’? throughout the empire, for the passage in Minuc., 
Octav. xxxvi., is not evidence enough to establish such a theory. 

1 So far as I know, no title was ever derived from the name of 
“Jesus” in the primitive days of Christianity —On the question 
whether Christians adopted the name of “ Friends” as a technical 
title, see the first Excursus at the close of this chapter. 

2 Cp. Minut. Felix xi. 

3 Cp. the New Testament, and especially the “Shepherd” of 
Hermas. 

* Von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff is perhaps right in adducing 
also Min. Felix xiv., where Cecilius calls Octavius “ pistorum 
praecipuus et postremus philosophus ”’ (“ chief of believers and lowest 
of philosophers’’). “ Pistores” here does not mean “millers,” 
but is equivalent to zucrév. From Celsus also one may conclude 
that the term zrof was technical (Orig., c. Cels., I. ix.). The 
pagans employed it as an opprobrious name for their opponents, 
while the Christians wore it as a name of honour, though they 
were pronounced people of mere “belief”? instead of people of 
intelligence and knowledge, 7.c. people who not only were credulous 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 7 


atechnicalterm. In assuming the name of “believers” 
(which originated, we may conjecture, on the soil of 
Gentile Christianity), Christians felt that the decisive 
and cardinal thing in this religion was the message 
which had made them what they were, a message 
which was nothing else than the preaching of the one 
God, of his son Jesus Christ, and of the life to come. 
The three characteristic titles, however, are those 
of “the saints,” “brethren,” and “the church of 
God,” all of which hang together. The abandonment 
of the term “disciples” for these self-chosen titles! 
marks the most significant advance made by those 
who believed in Jesus (cp. Weizsiicker, op. cit., pp. 36 
f.; Eng. trans., 1. pp. 43 f.). They took the name of 


but also believed what was absurd (see Lucian’s verdict on the 
Christians in Proteus Peregrinus).—In Noricum an inscription has 
been found, datiug from the fourth century (CIL, vol. iii. Supplem. 
Pars Poster., No. 13529), which describes a woman as “ Christiana 
fidelis.”’ 

1 They are the usual expressions in Paul, but he was by no 
means the first to employ them; on the contrary, he must have 
taken them over from the Jewish Christian communities in 
Palestine. At the same time they acquired a deeper content in 
his teaching. In my opinion it is impossible to maintain the 
view (which some would derive from the New Testament) that the 
Christians at Jerusalem were called ‘the saints,” kar’ éfoxyv, and 
it is equally erroneous to conjecture that the Christianity of the 
apostolic and post-apostolic ages embraced a special and inner 
circle of people to whom the title of “saints”? was exclusively 
applied. This cannot be made out, either from 1 Tim. v. 10, or 
from Heb. xiii. 24, or from Did. iv. 2, or from any other passage. 
The expression “the holy apostles” in Eph. iii. 5 is extremely 
surprising; I do not think it likely that Paul used such a phrase. 
—The earliest attribute of the word “church,” be it noted, was 
“holy”; ep. the collection of passages in Hahn-Harnack’s Biblio- 
thek der Symbole™, p. 88, and also the expressions “holy people” 
(€Ovos ayvov, ads ays), “holy priesthood.” 


8 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


“saints,” because they were sanctified by God and 
for God through the holy Spirit sent by Jesus, and 
because they were conscious of being truly holy and 
partakers in the future glory despite all the sins that 
daily clung to them.’ It remains the technical term 
applied by Christians to one another till after the 
middle of the second century (cp. Clem. Rom., 
Hermas, the Didaché, etc.) ; thereafter it gradually 
disappears, as Christians had no longer the courage to 
call themselves “saints,” after all the experiences 
which they had undergone. Besides, what really dis- 
tinguished Christians from one another by this time 
was the difference between the clergy and the laity 
(or the leaders and the led), so that the name “ saints” 
became quite obliterated, being only recalled in the 
hard times of persecution. In its place, “holy 
orders” arose (martyrs, confessors, ascetics, and 
finally—during the third century—the bishops), 
while “holy media” (sacraments), whose fitful in- 
fluence covered Christians who were personaliy 
unholy, assumed still greater prominence than in the 
first century. People were no longer conscious of 
being personally holy,” but then they had _ holy 

1 The actual and sensible guarantees of holiness lay in the holy 
media, the “charismata,” and the power of expelling demons. 
These possessed not merely a real but a personal character of their 
own. For the former, see 1 Cor. vii. 14: qyiacrar 6 avipp 6 adrurros 
ev TH yuvatki, Kal yylacTaL » yuvi) 7) aruTTOS ev TO GdeEAPGO* Exel dpa 
Ta TéKVa Upov aKaGapTa eat, viv b€ ayia eotLy. 

2 The church formed by Novatian in the middle of the third 
century called itself ‘the pure’’ (ka@apo‘), but we cannot tell 
whether this title was an original formation or the resuscitation of 
an older name, We shall not enter into the question of the names 


taken by separate Christian sects and circles (such as the Gnosties, 
the Spiritualists, etc.) : 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 9 


martyrs, holy ascetics, holy priests, holy ordinances, 
holy writings, and a holy doctrine. 

Closely bound up with the name of “saints” was 
that of “ brethren” (and “sisters”’), the former denot- 
ing the Christians’ relationship to God and to the 
future life (or BasiAeia Tod eo0, the kingdom of God), 
the latter the new relationship in which they felt them- 
selves placed towards their fellow-men, and, above all, 
towards their fellow-believers (cp. also the not infre- 
quent title of “ brethren in the Lord”). After Paul, this 
title became so common that the pagans soon grew 
familiar with it, ridiculing and besmirching it, but 
unable, for all that, to evade the impression which it 
made. For the term did correspond to the conduct 
of Christians. They termed themselves a brother- 
hood (adeAporys ; cp. 1 Pet. 1. 17, v. 9, etc.) as well as 
brethren (adeApo/), and to understand how fixed and 
frequent was the title, to understand how truly it 
answered to their life and conduct,’ one has only to 
‘study, not merely the New Testament writings (where 


! See the opinions of pagans quoted by the apologists. especially 
Tertull., Apol. xxxix., and Minuc., Octav., ix., xxxi., with Lucian’s 
Prot. Peregrinus. Tertullian avers that pagans were amazed at the 
brotherliness of Christians: “see how they love one another !”— 
In pagan guilds the name of “brother” is also found, but—so far 
I am aware—it is not common. From Acts xxii. 5, xxviii. 21, we 
must infer that the Jews also called each other “ brethren,” but the 
title cannot have had the significance for them that it possessed 
for Christians. Furthermore, as Jewish teachers call their pupils 
“children” (or “sons” and “daughters’’), and are called by them 
in turn “father,” these appellations also occur very frequently in 
the relationship between the Christian apostles and teachers and 
their pupils (cp. the numerous passages in Paul, Barnabas, etc.). 

2 Details on this point, as well as on the import of this fact for 
the Christian mission, in Book II. Chap. IV. 


10 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Jesus himself employed it and laid great emphasis 
upon it’), but Clemens Romanus, the Didaché, and the 
writings of the apologists.” Yet even the name of 
“the brethren,” though it outlived that of * the saints,” 
lapsed after the close * of the third century ; or rather, 
it was only ecclesiastics who really eontinued to call 
each other “ brethren,” * and when a priest gave the title 
of “brother” to a layman, it denoted a special mark 
of honour. ‘“ Brethren” (‘ fratres”) survived only in 
sermons, but confessors were at liberty to address 
ecclesiastics and even bishops by this title (cp. Cypr., 
ep. liii.). 

Since Christians in the apostolic age felt themselves 
to be “saints” and “ brethren,” and, in this sense, to 
be the true Israel and at the same time God’s new 
creation,’ they required a solemn title to bring out 
their complete and divinely appointed character and 
unity. As “ brotherhood ” (adeAporys, see above) was 


1 Cp. Matt. xxiii, 8 (see above, p. 1), and xii. 48, where Jesus says 
of the disciples, idov 7) pntnp pov Kai of ddeAdot pov. Thus they are 
not merely brethren, but fis brethren. 

2 Apologists of a Stoic cast, like Tertullian (Apol. xxxix.), did not 
confine the name of “brethren” to their fellow-believers, but 
extended it to all men: “ Fratres etiam vestri sumus, iure naturae 
matris unius” (“ We are your brethren also, in virtue of our common 
mother Nature’’). 

3 It still occurs, though rarely, in the third century ; ep., e.g., the 
Acta Pionii ix. Theoretically, of course, the name still survived for 
a considerable time ; cp., e.g., Lactant., Div. Inst., v. 15: “nee alia 
causa est cur nobis invicem fratrum nomen impertiamus, nisi quia 
pares esse nos credimus ” [vol. i. p. 208]. 

4 By the third century, however, they had also begun to style 
each other “ dominus.” 


5 On the titles of “a new people” and “a third race,’ see 
Book Il. Chap. VI. 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 11 


too one-sided, the name they chose was that of 
“church” or “the church of God” (ékcAyola, éxcAynoia 
tov Ocov), This was a masterly stroke. It was the 
work,' not of Paul, nor even earlier of Jesus, but of 
the Palestinian communities, which described them- 
selves as Sap. Originally it was beyond question a 
collective term*; it was the most solemn expression 
of the Jews for their worship* as a collective body, 
and as such it was taken over by the Christians. But 
ere long it was applied to the individual communities, 
and then again to the general meeting for worship. 
Thanks to this many-sided usage, together with its 
religious colouring (‘the church called by God”) 
and the possibilities of personification which it 
offered, the conception and the term alike rapidly 


1 Paul evidently found it in circulation ; the Christian communi- 
ties in Jerusalem and Judea already styled themselves éxxAnova 
(Gal. i. 22). Jesus did not coin the term; for it is only put into 
his lips in» Matt. xvi. 18 and xviii. 17, both of which passages are 
more than suspect from a critical standpoint (see Holtzmann, 
ad loc.); and, moreover, all we know of his preaching well- 
nigh excludes the possibility that he conceived the idea of 
creating a special éxxAyoia (so Matt. xvi. 18), or that he ever 
had in view the existence of a number of éxxAnoia (so Matt. 
xviii. 17). 

2 This may be inferred from the Pauline usage of the term itself, 
apart from the fact that the particular application of all such terms 
is invariably later than their general meaning. In Acts xii. 1, 
Christians are first described as ot a0 Tis éxxAqotas. 

3 S55 (usually rendered éxxAnoia in LXX.) denotes the community 
in relation to God, and consequently is more sacred than the 
profaner 73Y (regularly translated by cvvaywyy in the LXX.) The 
acceptance of éxxAyoia is thus intelligible for the same reason as 
that of “ Israel,’ “seed of Abraham,’ etc. Among the Jews 
éxxAnoia lagged far behind ovwaywyy in practical use, and this 
was all in favour of the Christians and their adoption of the 
term, 


12 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


came to the front. Its acquisition rendered the 
capture of the term “synagogue ”’ a superfluity, and, 
once the inner cleavage had taken place, the very 
neglect of the latter title served to distinguish 
Christians sharply from Judaism and its religious 
gatherings even in terminology. From the outset 
the Gentile Christians learned to think of the new 
religion as a “church” and as “churches.” ‘This 
did not originally involve an element of authority, 
but such an element lies hidden from the first in any 
spiritual magnitude which puts itself forward as at 
once an ideal and an actual fellowship of men. It 
possesses regulations and traditions of its own, special 
powers and forms of organization, and these become 
authoritative ; withal it supports the individual and at 
the same time guarantees to him the content of its 
testimony. Thus as early as 1 Tim. ii. 15 we read: 
vikos Qeod, ijtis éotiv exkAyria Oeod CavTos, TTIOS Kal edpatojua 
Tis adyOetas. Most important of all, however, was 
the fact that éxcAyco/a was conceived -of, in the first 
instance, not simply as an earthly but as a heavenly 
and transcendental entity. He who belonged to 
the éxxAyoia ceased to have the rights of a citizen on 

1 On the employment of this term by Christians, see my note 
on Herm., Mand. xi. It was not nervously eschewed, but it never 
became technical, apart from two cases of its occurrence. On the 
other hand, it is said of the Jewish Christians in Epiph., Har., xxx. 


i8, “they have presbyters and heads of synagogues. They call 
their church a synagogue and not a church; only, they are proud 
of no name but Christ’s”’ (zpeoBurépous otro. exovot Kat apxirvva- 
yoyous’ cuvaywyiy S€ otto. Kadodor THY EavTdv éxkAnoiav Kal odxXi 
exxAyoiav. TO XpiotG 8 dvopare povov cepvivovra). Still, one may 
doubt if the Jewish Christians really foreswore_ the name bap 
(éxxAnota); that they called their gatherings and places of meeting 


cuvaywyat, may be admitted, 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 13 


earth ;* instead of these he acquired an assured 
citizenship in heaven. ‘This transcendental meaning 
of the term still retained vigour and vitality during 
the second century, but in the course of the third it 
fell more and more into the background.’ 

During the course of the second century the term 
éxxAnoia acquired the attribute of “catholic” (in 
addition to that of “holy”). This predicate does 
not contain anything which implies a secularisation 
of the church, for “catholic” originally meant 
Christendom as a whole in contrast to individual 
churches (exxAyola KkaQoAtky = Taca 7 exkAyoia), The 
conception of “all the churches” is thus identical 
with that of “the church in general.” But a 
certain dogmatic element did exist from the very 
outset in the conception of the general church, as 
people imagined this church had been diffused by 
the apostles over all the earth. They were per- 
suaded, therefore, that only what existed everywhere 
throughout the church could be true, and at the 
same time absolutely true, so that the conceptions 
of “all Christendom,” “ Christianity spread over all 
the earth,” and “the true church,” came to be re- 
garded at a pretty early period as identical. In this 
way the term “ catholic ” acquired a pregnant meaning, 


2 


1 The chosen designation of Christians as ‘strangers and so- 
journers”’ became almost technical in the first century (ep. the 
Epistles of Paul, 1 Peter, and Hebrews), and rapoxéa (with zapocxetv 
=to sojourn) became actually a technical term for the individual 
community in the world (cp. also Herm., Semel. I., on this). 

2 Till far down into the third century (cp. the usage of Cyprian) 
the word ‘‘secta’’ was employed by Christians quite ingenuously 
to denote their fellowship. It was not technical, of course, but 
entirely a neutral term, 


14 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


and one which in the end was both dogmatic and 
political. As this was not innate but an innovation, 
it is not unsuitable to speak of pre-catholic and catholic 
Christianity. The term “catholic church” occurs 
first of all in Ignatius (Smyrn., vill. 2: o7ou dv pay 
6 éricxoTos, éket TO TARV0S Eatw* HaTep Srov dv 7 Xpirros 
"Tyoovs, exet 7 KaQoXKn exkAyola), who writes: ‘* Wherever 
the bishop appears, there let the people be; just as 
wherever Christ Jesus is, there is the catholic church.” 
Here, however, the words do not yet denote a new 
conception of the church, in which it is presented as 
an empirical and authoritative society. In Mart. 
Polyc. Inscr., xvi. 2, xix. 2, the word is probably an 
interpolation (‘ catholic” being here equivalent to 
“orthodox”: 7 «vy Zmvpyy KkaboXLky exkAno la), From 
Iren., i. 15. 2 (** Valentiniani eos qui sunt ab ecclesia 
‘communes ’ et ‘ ecclesiasticos’ dicunt ” = “ The Valen- 
tinians call those who belong to the Church by the 
name of ‘communes’ and ‘ecclesiastici’”) 1t follows 
that the orthodox Christians were called ‘“ catholics ” 
and “ecclesiastics” at the period of the Valentinian 
heresy. Irenzeus himself does not employ the term ; 
but the, thing is there (cp-i. 10. 2; 1. 9) iene 
similarly Serapion in Euseb., H.4., v. 19, waca 7 ey 
koopa adedportys). After the Mart. Polyc. the term 
“catholic,” as a description of the orthodox and visible 
church, occurs in the Muratorian fragment (where 
‘“catholica” stands without ‘ ecclesia” at all, as is 
frequently the case in later years throughout the 
West), in an anonymous writer (Kus., H., v. 16. 9), 
in Tertullian (e.¢., de praescript., xxvi. 80; adv. Marc., 
iv. 4, Hi. 22), in Clem. Alex. (Strom., vii. 17, 106 £.), 
in Hippolytus (Philos., ix. 12), in Mart. Pionii (2. 9. 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 15 


13. 19), in Pope Cornelius (Cypr., epest., xlix. 2), and 
in Cyprian. The expression “catholica traditio” 
occurs in Tertullian (de monog. i1.), “ fides catholica” 
in Cyprian (ep. xxv.), cavév cafodixes in Mart. Polyc. 
(Mosq. ad fin.), and Cyprian (ep., xx. 1), and “ catholica 
fides et religio” in Mart. Pioni (18). Elsewhere the 
word appears in different connections throughout the 
early Christian literature. In the Western symbols 
the addition of ‘“ catholica” crept in at a compara- 
tively late period, z.e. at the earliest in the third 
century. In the early Roman symbol it does not 
occur. 

We now come to the name “ Christians,” Which 
became the cardinal title of the faith. The Roman 
authorities certainly employed it from the days of 
Trajan downwards (cp. Pliny and the rescripts, the 
“cognitiones de Christianis”), and probably even 
forty or fifty years earlier (1 Pet. iv. 16; Tacitus), 
whilst it was by this name that the adherents of 
the new religion were known among the common 
people (Tacitus; cp. also the well-known passage 
in Suetonius). 

Luke has told us where this name arose. After 
describing ‘the foundation of the (Gentile Christian) 
church at Antioch, he proceeds (xi. 26): xpnuatioa 
TpPOTWS ev ‘Avtioxeta Tous wabynras Xpirtiavors [ X pyoteavors ]. 
It is not necessary to suppose that the name was given 
immediately after the establishment of the church, 
but we need not assume that any considerable interval 
elapsed between the one fact and the other.t. Luke 


1 In my opinion, the doubts cast by Baur and Lipsius upon this 
statement of the book of Acts are not of serious moment. Adjec- 
tival formations in -cavos are no doubt Latin, and indeed late Latin 


16 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


does not tell us who gave the name, but he indicates | 
it clearly enough.’ It was not the Christians (other- 
wise he would not have written xpyuatica), for they 
simply could not have given it to themselves. ‘The 
essentially inexact nature of the verbal form precludes 
any such idea. And for the same reason it could not 
have originated with the Jews. It was among the 
pagans that the title arose, among pagans who heard 
that a man called “ Christ” [Chrestus] was the lord 
and master of the new sect. Accordingly they struck 
out* the name of “ Christians,” as though “ Christ” 
were a proper name, just as they spoke of “* Herodiani,” 


formations (in Kiihner-Blass’s grammar they are not so much as 
noticed); but even in the first century they must have permeated 
the Greek vernacular by means of ordinary intercourse. In the 
New Testament itself we find ‘Hpwévavoi (Mark iii. 6, xii. 13, 
Matt. xxii. 16), Justin writes Mapxiavol, Ovarevtwavol, BaotAdcavol, 
SatopviAcavod (Dial. xxxv.), and similar formations are of frequent 
occurrence subsequently. If one wishes to be very circumspect, 
one may conjecture that the name was first coined by the Roman 
magistrates in Antioch, and then passed into currency among the 
common people. The Christians themselves hesitated for long to 
use the name; yet this is anything but surprising, and therefore 
it cannot be brought forward as an argument against the early 
origin of the term. 

1 The reason why he did not speak out clearly was perhaps 
because the pagan origin of the name was already felt by him to 
be a drawback. But it is not necessary to suppose such a thing. 

2 Possibly they intended the name originally to be written 
“Chrestus” (not “ Christus”), an error which was widely spread 
among opponents of Christianity during the second century; ep. 
Justin’s Apol., I. iv., Vheophil., ad Autol., I. i., Tert., Apol. iii., Lact., 
Instit., iv. 7. 5, with Suetonius, Claud. 25, and Tacitus (see below). 
But this conjecture is not necessary. Pagans certainly had a pretty 
common proper name in “ Chrestus’’ (but no “ Christus”’), so that 
they may have thought from the very first that a man of this name 
was the founder of the sect. 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 17 


* Marciani,” etc. At first, of course, Christians did 
not adopt the title. It does not occur in Paul or 
anywhere in the New Testament as a designation 
applied by Christians to themselves, for in the only 
two passages ° where it does occur it is quoted from the 
lips of an opponent, and even in the apostolic fathers 
(so-called) we seek it in vain. The sole exception is 
Ignatius,*> who employs it quite frequently; a fact 
which serves admirably to corroborate the narrative 
of Acts, for Ignatius belonged to Antioch.’ Thus 
the name not only originated in Antioch, but, so far 
as we know, it was there that it first became used by 
Christians as a title. By the days of Trajan the 
Christians of Asia Minor had also been in possession 
of this title for a considerable period, but its general 
vogue cannot be dated earlier than the close of 
Hadrian’s reign or that of Pius. Tertullian already 
employs it as if it had been given by the Christians 
to themselves.* 


1 “Christians” therefore simply means adherents of a man 
called Christ. 

2 1 Pet. iv, 16: py tus tudv racyxérw ws hoveds 7) KAemTNS . . . . El 
dé ws Xpictiavds, referring obviously to official tituli criminum, In 
Acts xxvi. 28 Agrippa observes, év dA/yw pe weiBeaus Xproriavoy rowjoa. 

3 He employs it even as an adjective (Trail. vi.: Xpurtiavyn tpody 
= Christian food), and coins the new term Xpuotiavicpds (Magn. x., 
Rom. iii., Philad. vi.). 

4 Luke, too, was probably an Antiochené by birth (cp. the 
Argumentum to his gospel, and also Eusebius), so that in this way 
he knew the origin of the name. 

5 Apol. iii: “ Quid novi, si aliqua disciplina de magistro cogno- 
mentum sectatoribus suis inducit? nonne philosophi de autoribus 
suis nuncupantur Platonici, Epicurei, Pythagorici?” (“Is there 
anything novel in a sect drawing a name for its adherents from 
its master? Are not philosophers called after the founder of their 
philosophies—Platonists, Epicureans, and Pythagoreans ?”’) 

VOL, I, 4 


18 -EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


A word in closing on the well-known passage from 
Tacitus (Annal., xv. 44). It is perfectly certain that 
the persecution mentioned here was really a persecu- 
tion of Christians (and not of Jews), the only doubtful 
point being whether the use of “ Christiani” (‘ quos 
per flagitia invisos vulgus Christianos appellabat ”) is 
not a hysteron proteron. Yet even this doubt seems 
to me unjustified. If Christians were called by this 
name in Antioch about 40-45 a.p., there is no 
obvious reason why the name should not have been 
known in Rome by 64 a.p., even although the 
Christians did not spread it themselves, but were only 
followed by it as by their shadow. Nor does Tacitus 
(or his source) aver that the name was used by 
Christians for their own party; he says the very 
opposite ; it was the people who thus described them. 
Hitherto, however, the statement of Tacitus has 
appeared rather unintelligible, for he begins by 
ascribing the appellation of ‘ Christians” to the com- 
mon people, and then goes on to relate that the 
‘autor nominis,” or author of the name, was Christ, ° 
in which case the common people did a very obvious 
and natural thing when they called Christ’s followers 
“ Christians.” Why, then, does Tacitus single out 
the appellation of ‘“ Christian” as a popular epithet ? 
This is an enigma which I once proposed to solve by 
supposing that the populace gave the title to Christians 
in an obscene or opprobrious sense. I bethought 
myself of “crista,” or of the term “ panchristarii,” 
which (so far as I know) occurs only once in Arnobius 
i. 388: ‘Quid fullones, lanarios, phrygiones, cocos, 
panchristarios, muliones, lenones, lanios, meretrices 
(What of the fullers, wool-workers, embroiderers, 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 19 


cooks, confectioners, muleteers, pimps, butchers, 
prostitutes)? Tacitus, we might conjecture, aims 
at suggesting this meaning, while at the same time 
he explains the real origin of the term in question. 
But this hypothesis was a precarious one, and in my 
judgment the enigma has now been solved by means 
of a fresh collation of the Tacitus MS. (see G. Andre- 
sen, Wochenschr. f. klass. Philologie, 1902, No. 28, col. 
780 f.), which shows, as I am convinced from the fac- 
simile, that the original reading was “ Chrestianos,” 
and that this was subsequently corrected (though 
** Christus ” and not “ Chrestus ” is the term employed 
ad loc.). This clears up the whole matter. The 
populace, as Tacitus says, called this sect ‘ Chrestiani,” 
while he himself is better informed (like Pliny, who also 
writes “ Christian”), and silently corrects the mistake 
in the spelling of the names, by accurately designating 
its author (autor nominis) as ‘ Christus.” Blass had 
anticipated this solution by a conjecture of his own 
in the passage under discussion, and the event has 
proved that he was correct. The only poimt which 
remains to be noticed is the surprising tense of “ appel- 
labat.”. Why did not Tacitus write “appellat,” we 
may ask? Was it because he wished to indicate that 
everyone nowadays was well aware of the origin of 
the name ? 

One name still falls to be considered, a name which 
of course never became really technical, but was (so 
to speak) semi-technical; I mean that of otpatiérys 
Xpicrov (miles Christi, a soldier of Christ). With 
Paul this metaphor had already become so common 
that it was employed in the most diverse ways; 
compare the great descriptions in 2 Cor. x. 3-6 


20 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANT#®Y 


(crparevdpeba — Ta OmAa Tie oTparelas — mpos cabaiperw | 
OXUPOMATWY — Noy mous caBaipourres — aixwadwriCovTes), and 
the elaborate sketch in Ephes. vi. 10-18, with 
1 Thess. v. 8 and 1 Cor. ix. 7, noting also how 
Paul describes his fellow-prisoners as ‘‘ fellow-cap- 
tives” (Rom. xvi. 7; Col. iv. 10; Philemon 23), and 
his fellow-workers as ‘ fellow-soldiers” (Phil. 1. 25; 
Philemon 2). We come across the same figure again 
in the pastoral epistles (1 Tim. 1. 18: wa orparevy Thy 
KaAqv oTparetay ; 2 Tim. i. 3 f.: cuvkacorabycov ws Kards 
TTPATLOTIS "IT, X. ovdets TT PATEVOMEVOS EUTAEKETAL TAis TOU 
Biov TPAYMUTELALS, ia TO TTpaTorAoyIo avTt apeon. €av oe 
abrARon Tis, OV TTEpavovTat eav my vouluas aOAnon 3 2 Tim. 
il. 6: aixwarwriCovTes yuvaikapia). Thereafter it never 
lost currency,’ becoming so naturalized > among the 


1 Cp., e.g., Ignat., ad Polyc. vi. (a passage in which the technical 
Latinisms are also very remarkable): dpéoxere ¢ otparevecOe, ad’ ov 
Kal Ta OWavia Kopicerbe* pytis bpav Sereprwp cipeOA. TO Bartirpa 
ipav pevéetw os drda,  Tiatis ws tepikepadaia, 7 aydrn as Sdopv, 
tropov1) ws mavoTAia: Ta dearociTA tpov TA Epya Duov, wa TA 
axkerta tpov aéia Kopionobe (‘Please him for whom ye fight, and 
from whom ye shall receive your pay. Let none of you be found 
a deserter. Let your baptism abide as your shield, your faith as 
a helmet, your love as a spear, your patience as a panoply. Let 
your actions: be your deposit, that ye may receive your due 
assets’’); ep. also ad Smyrn. i. (iva apy ovoonpov cis Tods aidvas, 
“that he might raise an ensign to all eternity’’). 

2 Clemens Romanus’s work is extremely characteristic in this diree- 
tion, even by the end of the first century. He not only employs 
military figures (e.g., xxi.: pi Aurorakreiv Has ard TOD OeAijparos adrod 
= we are not to be deserters from his will; ep. xxviii: tév atropo- 
AovvTwv dx aitod=running away from him), but (xxxvii.) presents 
the Roman military service as a model and type for Christians : 
otparevowpeOa ody, avdpes ddeAhol, peTa TaTNS ExTEVvElas ev TOIS GpapLoLS 
TpooTaypacw adrod* KaTavonTwpev TOs TTPATEVOMEVOUS TOIS 7YOU[LEVOLS 
Hpav* TOs evTaKTwS, TOS eveiKTWs, TOS broTeTaypevws eriTeLodow To 
Autuccdpeva’ ov ravres eioly érapyxor ovde xiAlapyxor OSE ExaTovTapxoL 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 21 


Latins especially (as a title for the martyrs pre- 
eminently, but also for Christians in general), that 
‘soldiers of Christ” (milites Christi) almost became 
a technical term with them for Christians; cp. the 
writings of Tertullian, and particularly the cor- 
respondence of Cyprian—where hardly one letter 
fails to describe Christians as “soldiers of God” 
(milites dei), or ‘soldiers of Christ” (milites Christi), 
and where Christ is also called the ‘“ imperator” ‘of 
Christians... The preference shown for this figure by 


ovoe TEeVTAKOVTapXoL OVOE TO KabeENS, GAN EkagTos ev TO idiw Tdypatt TA 
eritagoopeva td Tod Bacitéws Kal THY yyoupevwv emiteAcd (“ Let us 
then enlist, brethren, in his flawless ordinances with entire earnest- 
ness. Let us mark those who enlist under our commanders, how 
orderly, how readily, how obediently, they carry out their injunc- 
tions; all of them are not prefects or captains over a hundred 
men, or over fifty, or so forth, but every man in his proper rank 
carries out the orders of the king and the commanders’’). 

1 Cp. ep. xv. 1 (to the martyrs and confessors): ““ Nam cum omnes 
milites Christi custodire oportet praecepta imperatoris sui [so Lact., 
Instit., vi. 8 and vii. 27], tanec vos magis praeceptis eius obtemperare 
plus convenit”’ (“For while it behoves all the soldiers of Christ to 
observe the instructions of their commander, it is the more fitting 
that you should obey his instructions”). The expression “camp 
of Christ” (castra Christi) is particularly common in Cyprian; ep. 
also ep. liv. 1 for the expression “unitas sacramenti”’ in connection 
with the military figure. Cp. pseudo-Augustine (Aug., Opp. v., App. 
p. 150): “ Milites Christi sumus et stipendium ab ipso donativumque 
percepimus” (“We are Christ’s soldiers, and from him we have 
received our pay and presents’’).—I need not say that the 
Christian’s warfare was invariably figurative in primitive Christianity 
(in sharp contrast to Islam). It was left to Tertullian, in his 
Apology, to trifle with the idea that Christians might conceivably 
take up arms in certain circumstances against the Romans, like the 
Parthians and Marcomanni; yet even he merely played with the 
idea, for he knew perfectly well, as indeed he expressly declares, 
that Christians were permitted, not to kill (occidere), but only to 
let themselves be killed (occidi). 


22 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Christians of the West, and their incorporation of it 
in definite representations, may be explained by their 
more aggressive and at the same time thoroughly 
practical temper. ‘The currency lent to the figure 
was reinforced by the fact that ‘ sacramentum ” 
in the West (@e. any mvoripov or mystery, and 
also anything sacred) was an extremely common 
term, while baptism in particular, or the solemn 
vow taken at baptism, was also designated a 
“sacramentum.” Being a military term (=the 
military oath), it led all Western Christians to feel 
that they must be soldiers of Christ, owing to their 
sacrament, and the probability is, as has been recently 
shown (by Zahn, Neue kirchl. Zeitschrift, 1899, pp. 
28 f.), that this usage explains the description of the 
pagans as “pagani.” It can be demonstrated that 
the latter term was already in use (during the early 
years of Valentinian I. ; cep. Theodos., Cod. xvi., 2. 18) 
long before the development of Christianity had gone 
so far as to enable all non-Christians to be termed 
“villagers,” so that the title must rather be taken in 
the sense of “civilians” (for which there is outside 
evidence) as opposed to ‘“ milites” or soldiers. Non- 
Christians are people who have not taken the oath 
of service to God or Christ, and who consequently 
have no part in the sacrament. ‘They are mere 
“ pagani.”? 


1 For the interpretation of paganus as “ pagan’ we cannot point to 
Tertull., de corona xi. (perpetiendum pro deo, quod aeque fides 
pagana condixit = for God we must endure what even civie loyalty 
has also borne; apud Jesum tam miles est paganus fidelis, quam 
paganus est miles fidelis=with Jesus the faithful citizen is a 
soldier, just as the faithful soldier is a citizen; ep. de pallio iv.), 
for “ fides pagana’’ here means, not pagan faith or loyalty (as one 


THE NAMES OF CHRISTIAN BELIEVERS 23 


Pagans in part caught up the names of Christians 
as they heard them on the latter’s lips," but of course 
they used most commonly the title which they had 


might suppose), but the duty of faith in those who do not belong 
to the military profession, as is plain from the subsequent 
discussion. Though Ulphilas, Prudentius, and Orosius all maintain 
the ordinary explanation of the origin of this term, I cannot think 
it is correct, unlike Schubert in recent days (Lehrb. d. K. Gesch., i. p. 
477). About 300 a.p.—to leave out the inscription in CIL, x, 2, 
7112—the non-Christian religions could not as yet be designated 
as “peasant” or “rural” religions —The military figure originated 
in the great struggle which every Christian had to wage against 
Satan and the demons (Eph. vi. 12: ot« éorw ‘piv 7) rdAn zpos aipa. 
kai odpxa, GAAG pos Tus dpyds, mpos Tas ekovoias, mpos TOds 
KOGLOKpaTOpovs TOD oKOTOUS TOUTOU, TPOS TA TVEVPATLKA THS TOVNpPLaS €V 
Tois érovpavios). Once the State assumed a hostile attitude towards 
Christians, the figure of the military calling and conflict naturally 
arose also in this connection. God looks down, says Cyprian (ep. ]xxvi. 
4), upon his troops: “Gazing down on us amid the conflict of his 
Name, he approves those who are willing, aids the fighters, crowns 
the conquerors,’ etc. (in congressione nominis sui desuper spectans 
volentes conprobat, adiuvat dimicantes, vincentes coronat, etc.). 
Nor are detailed descriptions of the military figure awanting; cp., 
e.g., the seventy-seventh letter addressed to Cyprian (ch. ii.): 
tu tuba canens dei milites, caelestibus armis instructos, ad congres- 
sionis proelium excitasti et in acie prima, spiritali gladio diabol- 
um interfecisti, agmina quoque fratrum hine et inde verbis tuis 
composuisti, ut invidiae inimico undique tenderentur et cadavera 
ipsius publici hostis et nervi concisi calearentur (“ As a sounding 
trumpet, thou hast roused the soldiers of God, equipped with 
heavenly armour, for the shock of battle, and in the forefront thou 
hast slain the devil with the sword of the Spirit; on this side and 
on that thou hast marshalled the lines of the brethren by thy 
words, so that snares might be laid in all directions for the foe, the 
sinews of the common enemy be severed, and carcases trodden 
under foot’). The African Acts of the Martyrs are full of military 
expressions and metaphors ; see, e.g., the Acta Saturnini et Dativi, xv. 
(Ruinart, Acta Mart., p. 420). 

1 Celsus, for instance, speaks of the church as “the great 
church ” (to distinguish it from the smaller Christian sects). 


24 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


coined themselves, viz. that of ‘‘ Christians,” alongside 
of which we find nicknames and_ sobriquets like 
“ Galileans,” ‘‘ass-worshippers” (‘Tert., Apol. xvi., 
ep. Minut.), “magicians” (Acta Theclae, 'Tertull.), 
«Third race,” ‘‘ sarmenticii” -and “ semi-axii” (stake- 
bound, faggot-circled ; Tert., Apol. i.).’ 

Closely bound up with the “names” of Christians 
is the discussion of the question whether individual 
Christians got new names as Christians, or how 
Christians stood with regard to ordinary pagan 
names during the first three centuries. The answer 
to. this will be found in the second Excursus appended 
to the present chapter. 


1 Terms drawn derisively from the methods of death inflicted 
upon Christians. 


EXCURSUS I.! 
FRIENDS (iror). 


FRIENDSHIP, in the deepest and most comprehensive 
sense of the term, is the twin-sister of that knowledge 
which forms the supreme and engrossing business of 
a lifetime. Both arose together. Both had Eros as 
their common father. The history of the Greek 
schools of philosophy is at the same time the history 
of friendship. No one ever spoke more nobly and 
warmly of friendship than Aristotle himself, and never 
has it been more vividly realized than amid the schools 
of the Pythagoreans and Epicureans. ‘The former 
school might even go the length of a community of 
goods, but still they were outstripped by the 
philosopher of Samos with his injunction: «7 
catatiberOa Tas ovclas es TO KOWOY* aTLCTOUYTwWY Yap TO 
ToLoUTOY : e 0 amlaTwYv, ovde prov (“Put not your 
property into a common holding, for that implies a 
mutual distrust ; and when people distrust each other, 
friends they cannot be”). The ethics of the Porch, 
based on the absence of any wants in the perfectly 
wise man, certainly did not leave any room for friend- 


1 The little essay which I insert at this point was printed for 
private circulation in 1899. It appears now in somewhat altered 
form. 

25 


26 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


ship, but (as so often is the case) the Stoic broke | 
through the theory of his school at this point, and 
Seneca was not the only Stoic moralist who glorified 
friendship and proved it was morally essential. 
People were still moved by the pattern set before 
them in the intercourse of Socrates with pupils who 
were at the same time his friends; men could not 
forget how he lived with these friends, how he laboured 
for them and remained accessible to them up to the 
hour of his death, and how everything he taught 
them came home to them as a friend’s counsel. 

No wonder that the Epicureans, like the Pytha- 
goreans before them, simply called themselves 
“friends.” It formed at once the simplest and the 
deepest expression for that inner tie into which 
people found themselves transplanted when they 
entered the fellowship of the school. No matter 
whether one thought of the common reverence felt 
for the master, or of the community of sentiment 
and aims among the members, or of their mutual 
aid, the relationship in every case was covered by 
the term “friendship.” And even where the name 
was not in use, the thing itself was there. Let the 
sophist see to himself. As for the philosopher, he 
needed “friends” and was himself a ‘ friend.” 


From the days of the emperor Claudius onwards, 
“schools ” which had hitherto been unknown spread 
with extraordinary rapidity over the Roman empire 
from Palestine, schools which superficially seemed 
either a new development of the synagogal system, or 
societies of “ philosophers,” embracing old women and 
slaves, or associations of excited and therefore of 


FRIENDS QT 


dangerous fools. These were the Christian ecclesie. 
One thing was plain, however, even to the dimmest 
vision and the most determined dislike. And that 
was the strong and even unexampled fellow-feeling 
which held these guilds together and animated their 
members. “They have all things in common” 
“they make light of any expense whatever in their 
mutual services”: “they treat each other as 
brothers and sisters ”—such were the opinions of their 
conduct to be heard all over the empire. And these 
opinions corresponded to the self-consciousness of the 
people, to whom they applied. Deep into their souls 
the conviction had sunk that their whole course of 
life must be regulated by the limitless duty of love, 
especially towards those who shared their faith, and 
also that they were to stand towards one another in 
the capacity of friends. The question is, did they 
also style themselves outright as “ friends ” ? 

In the New Testament itself, different designations 
of the adherents of Jesus are often to be met with, 
suchas! “the saints,” ‘the elect,” “ithe diseiples,* 
“the brethren,” etc., besides the name of * Christians,” 
which arose first among their opponents at Antioch 
and was subsequently taken over by themselves. 
But if we look for the name of “the friends” in the 
New Testament, the results of our search are so 
scanty that it is doubtful ‘if in this case we are 
dealing with a technical title at all. Strictly speak- 
ing, only two passages fall to be noted. In that 
section of Acts which has been composed by a fellow- 
traveller and eye-witness of the apostle Paul’s voyage 
to Rome, we read (xxvii. 3): T7 Te erépa KaTHXOnuev ets 


1 Not a single relevant passage occurs throughout Paul’s epistles. 


28 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Lidava, PiravOpdrws te 6 “lovALos TH avr Xpnodevos 
eet pervev 7 pos Tous cpirous TopevOevTt eTmedelas TuxXelV, 
Does of pido here mean Christians in general or some 
special friends of Paul? And if the first meaning is 
correct, are we to admit that the usage of the word is 
technical? Neither question, in my opinion, can be 
answered with absolute certainty. But as regards 
the former, it is extremely unlikely that the historian 
meant special friends of Paul, otherwise he would 
probably have put the matter more definitely, as he 
has done, ¢.g., In xxi. 6. Besides, the expression 
itself must, in this event, have been more precise. 
We must assume, then, that of pido here is equivalent 
to of adeApoi, which recurs so frequently in Acts (see 
parallels of especial significance in 1x. 30, x. 23, 
xi. 29, xv. 82, 33, 36, 40, xvul, 10, 14, xvii. 18, 27, and 
above all, xxi. 7, 17, xxvil. 15). Yet even if Luke 
means Christians in general by this expression, it 
does not follow by any means from this solitary 
passage that the term was technical. This writer, 
with his classical culture, might for once choose a 
form of expression which could not be misunderstood, 
without being led thereto by any fixed linguistic 
usage. 

The little third epistle of John ends (ver. 15) with 
these words, aa maCovrat Te Ol piror : ao macou Tous pirous 
car’ ovoua. Here one might think of greetings sent 
by all the Christians in the company of John to all 
the Christians in the church of Gaius (to whom the 
epistle is addressed), in which case we would 
recognise in of ido a technical description of 
Christians in general. But the words “by name” 
(kar dvoua) rather point to an inner circle, and this 


FRIENDS 29 


explanation becomes a certainty if one takes into 
consideration the contents of the epistle. It reveals 
a fissure in the church of Gaius. <A_ section of its 
members, headed by the president, is hostile to John. 
Consequently the latter cannot have meant by of 
piAoc any but those members of the church who were 
friendly to himself, whilst the friends who send the 
greeting are not the entire body of Christians in 
Ephesus, but a smaller circle grouped round John. 
Which is again one proof, corroborated by the 
negative evidence derived from the above Pauline 
reference, that towards the close of the first century 
of ior was not a technical name applied by Chris- 
tians to one another. Had all Christians borne this 
name, John would not have been able to apply it 
to his inner circle.1. This result comes as a surprise, 
for not only were Christians to be “ friends” to each 
other, but even about,the year 100 a.p. two gospels 
were being read, in which Jesus himself called his 
disciples of ido. wov (my friends). In Luke xii. 4 
he declares, A\éyw vuiv, Tois Giro pov, uy poBryOire aro 
TOV atoKTevvovtwy TO ooua; While John xv. 18-15 
contains the great saying: meCova tavtys ayarny ovdets 

1 In the gospel of Peter (v. 26), Peter speaks of his fellow-disciples 
as his éraipo. or comrades. But even this is not a technical title. 
Julius Africanus ends his letter to Origen with the words, rots 
Kuplovs Lov Tmpowayopeve* oe oi emioTdpevoL TaVTES T pow ayopevourw 
(“Salute my masters; all who understand salute thee”). We do 
not know who are designated by oi érurrdpevor, or how the term is 
to be taken, but in any case it denotes an inner circle. 

2 The words quoted by Clement (quis dives salv, xxxiii.), déaw od 
povov Tos pidrows, GAAG Kat Tors pido Tov Pilwv (“I will give not 
merely to the friends, but to their friends”), probably represent an 
apocryphal saying of Jesus; cp. Jiilicher in Theol. Lit.-Zig., 1894, 
No. 1. But its origin is uncertain, 


30 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


eXEel, va Tis THY Woxny avtov Oy vmep tav dirwv avTou * Suets 
piror pov ore, Cay Toute a eyw evTédomat Luly? ovKEeTL eyo 
imas OovrAous, STL O OovAOS OvUK OidEv TL ToLE? AUTOU O KUpLOS* 
vmas O€ elpnka pirous, OTL TavTa & Koved Tapa TOU TAT POS 
pou eyvopica vuiv, ‘These sayings of our Lord could 
not, however, induce the early Christians to use the 
title of “friends” as a mutual designation, for some- 
thing far more glorious was conveyed by them, viz., 
the assurance that the Master looked upon them as 
his friends, because he had made known to them 
whatever he himself had heard from the Father. As 
his friends they were therefore ‘“ friends of God,” 
raised to the same height of privilege as Abraham, 
who alone bore the honorary title of ‘God’s friend” 
in Jewish tradition.! Thus in Eph. 1. 19, Paul 
brings the conception of PiAu to a climax by writing, 
“ye are no longer strangers and sojourners, but 
fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household of 
God” (ovKeT« €OTE Eévor Kal TApoLKol, GAN éore cuuToNTat 
Toy wyiwy Kal oiketo. Tov Beov), While Valentinus (in Clem. 
Alex., Strom., VI. 6. 52) speaks of “the people be- 
friended by the Beloved and friendly to him” (Aaos 
0 TOU IryaTNMEVOU O provpevos Kal prov avuTov), 

While, however, we can readily understand how 
these words of Jesus did not prevail upon Christians 
to adopt the title of “ friends” (se., ‘‘of Jesus” or * of 
God”), which involved something too sublime and 

! Occasionally the prophets also got this title ; ep. Hippol., Phelos., 
x. 33, Sikaror avdpes yeyevnvtar piror Oeod + odtor mpopyrar KéxAnvrat 
(“Just men have become friends of God, and these are named 
prophets’). Justin gives the name of Xpurrotd pido. (‘ Christ’s 
friends’’) to the prophets who wrote the Old Testament scriptures 
(Dial. Tryph. viii.). For John the Baptist as a idos of Jesus, ep. 
John iii. 29. 


FRIENDS 31 


too severe for ordinary life,’ the question still remains, 
why did they not call each other friends?” To this, 
I think, an answer can be readily found. The early 
Christians neglected the term “ friends” just because 
they knew and used a term which was still more 
warm and close, viz. that of ‘ brethren” (see above). 
The name of “brethren” alone seemed to express 
what Christians were and were to be. In primitive 
Christianity ‘“‘ brother” could not leave any room for 
“friend,” so powerful was their consciousness of the 
spiritual unity in their position, so absorbing was their 
sense of mutual responsibility. Kven Christ had 
enjoined the love, not of friends, but of brethren ; with 
brotherly love and not with friendship had he bound 
up the love of God. And even their Master could 
be thought of as their brother. As Paul said, he was 
“the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. vii. 29). 

The name of “ brethren,” after remaining for about 
a century and a half the general term applied by 
Christians to one another, fell into gradual disuse in 
the course of the third century. Step by step this 


1 The “saints”’ did use the title (see above), but it did not stand. 
by any means on the same high footing as that of “the friends of 
God.” It is only Clement of Alexandria (who made ample use of 
the rights conferred by the Christian religion) who writes (in 
Prokrept. xii., 122) «i xowa ta dirwv, GeopiArrs 8€ 6 dvOpwros TO Hed 
—kai yap ov didos pecitevovtos tod Adyou—, yiverar by ody Ta 
mdvTa2 Tod avOpwrov, OTL TA TavTa Tod Oeod, Kal Kowa apdotv Totv 
gilow Ta mévra, Tod Oeod Kat dvOpwH7ov (“If all that friends have is a 
common possession, and man be the friend of God—for through the 
mediator of the world he has become indeed God’s friend—then all 
things become man’s, inasmuch as all things are God’s and so the 
common property of both friends, God and man”’). 

* The expression “dear to God” (dei cari), as applied to 
Christians, occurs several times in Cyprian (cp., e.g., ad Demetr. xii.). 


32 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


process of neglect may be followed in the literature 
of early Christianity during the second and third 
centuries, and the doom of the title was sealed by 
the formation of a special class of clerics, who called 
one another (as they still do) ‘‘ brethren,” and did not 
address the laity by this title except (by a paltry 
survival of the old tradition) zn their sermons. By the 
opening of the third century no layman ventured any 
longer to call ecclesiastics “ brethren.” 

So perished the name, and more than the name, of 
“brethren.” Nor did the title of “friends” succeed 
to the vacant position.’ By this time it was too late 
for the church at large to adopt such a title, for in 
the interests of authority and discipline throughout 
the secularized communities it had been already 
found necessary to erect barriers between man and 
- man, in order to prevent the whole field being left 
open to barriers thrown up by property and social 
position. In any aspect whatsoever, the name of 
“friends” would have been an anachronism. The . 
feeling of brotherhood and of friendship had not 
died out of the church. In no age have they ever 
been entirely absent, and the third century can 
show brilliant traits in this line. Still, they were 


1 Had Christians as a whole been people of the stamp of Clement 
of Alexandria, at the close of the second century, Christendom 
would have grown from a nation of “brethren” into one of 
“friends.” In quis dives salv. xxxii. there is a beautiful saying upon 
friendship : Od pi) odd’ etrev 6 Kiipios (Luke xvi. 9) Ads, 7) Tapacyes, 
} Evepyérnoov, 7) BonOnoov* Pidov 8€ rotnoa* 6 dé pidos odK ex puas 
ddaews yiverat, GAN e& GAns avaratoews Kal Guvovoias paxpas (“ The 
Lord did not say, give, or provide, or benefit, or aid, but make a 
friend ; and friendship springs, not from a single act of giving, but 
from invariable relief youchsafed and from long intercourse ”’). 


FRIENDS 33 


no longer the determining element of Christianity as 
a whole. Their place had been taken by the cultus. 
The Catholic church, however, was not Christianity 
as a whole, nor was its attitude even the norm for 
all the members within its communion. Alongside 
of it, or inside it, there grew up circles, “sects,” 
and conventicles, in which people drew closer to 
each other and endeavoured to resuscitate primitive 
Christianity, or what they took to be such. Within 
these circles the name of “friends” also was revived. 
So far as this had already taken place within the 
gnostic sects of the second century, it is impossible 
to ignore the influence of the philosophic schools. 
Epiphanes, the son of Carpocrates, for example, 
founded a Christian communistic guild upon the 
model of the Pythagoreans, which was _ probably 
influenced also by the Epicurean schools and their 
organization (Clem., Stvom., III. 5-9); while Valen- 
tinus, one of the profoundest thinkers in the second 
century, wrote a homily “on friends” (zepi irov, 
op. cit., VI. 6. 52) of which unfortunately nothing but 
-asmall fragment is extant. Yet it was not until a 
much later period that the name of “ friends,” as a 
title applied by definite groups of Christians to them- 
selves, became of any moment from the standpoint 
of church history. This occurred first of all in the 
fourteenth century, then again in the seventeenth ; 
nor has the latter movement lost its power even at 
the present day. In the former case it was the 
Gottesfreunde, who united under this name on the 
Upper Rhine and in the south of Germany, in order 
to promote warmth in the inner life and ignite the 


fires of love to God and to one’s neighbour in a 
VOL. II. 3 


34 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


church that had grown cold. One has only to 
think of Tauler to be reminded of the debt owed 
by our fatherland to such “friends of God.” In the 
latter case it was George Fox, who founded the 
society of the Friends or Quakers about 1650—the 
most thoroughgoing protest, in principles, dogmas, and 
forms of worship, of any Christian society against 
the ceremonialism and externalism of the English 
Kstablished Church. Yet this formed itself a distinct 
society, with characteristics of its own, and inspired 
by the warmest love of friends. ‘The thoroughness 
of the Friends impeded their spread, but although the 
numbers of their membership have never been con- 
siderable, their influence upon the moral and spiritual 
life of England is not to be undervalued ; while at the 
present day, both in England and in America, “the 
Friends” are actively engaged in the diffusion of pure 
piety and in the task of putting a deep and real 
content into “ friendship.” 


EXCURSUS II.’ 
CHRISTIAN NAMES. 


Doers the use of Christian names taken from the 
Bible go back as far as the first three centuries ? 
In answering this question, we come upon several 
instructive results. 

Upon consulting the earliest synodical Acts in our 
possession, those of the North African synod in 256 
A.D. (preserved in Cyprian’s works), we find that 
while the names of the eighty-seven bishops who 
voted there are for the most part Latin, though a 
considerable number are Greek, not one Old Testa- 
ment name occurs. Only two are from the New 
Testament, viz. Peter (No. 72) and Paul (No. 47). 
Thus in the middle of the third century pagan names 
were still employed quite freely throughout Northern 
Africa, and the necessity of employing Christian 
names had hardly as yet arisen. ‘The same holds 
true of all the other regions of Christendom. As 
inscriptions and writings testify, Christians in East 
and West alike made an exclusive or almost exclusive 
use of the old pagan names in their environment till 
after the middle of the third century, employing, 

I The following paragraphs were published in the Christliche 


Welt (No. xiv.), and now appear in an enlarged form, 
35 


36 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


indeed, very often names from pagan mythology 
and soothsaying. We find Christians called Apolli- 
naris, Apollonius, Heraclius, Saturninus, Mercurius, 
Bacchylus, Bacchylides, Serapion, Satyrus, Aphro- 
disius, Dionysius, Hermas, Origen, etc., besides 
Faustus, Felix, and Felicissimus. ‘The martyrs 
perished because they declined to sacrifice to the 
gods whose names they bore”! 

Now this is truly remarkable! Here was the 
primitive church exterminating every vestige of 
polytheism in her midst, tabooing pagan mythology 
as devilish, living with the great personalities of the 
Bible and upon their words, and yet freely employing 
the pagan names which had been hitherto in vogue ! 
The problem becomes even harder if one bears in 
mind that the Bible itself contains examples of fresh 
names being given,’ that surnames and alterations of 
a name were of frequent occurrence in the Roman 
empire (the practice, in fact, being legalized by the 
emperor Caracalla in 212 for all free men), and that 
a man’s name in antiquity was by no means regarded 
by most people as a matter of indifference. 

One may be disposed to seek various reasons for 
this indifference displayed by the primitive Christians 
towards names. One may point to the fact that a 
whole series of pagan names must have been rendered 
sacred from the outset by the mere fact of distin- 
guished Christians having borne them. One may 
further recollect how soon Christians got the length 


1 Thus in the gospels we read of Jesus calling Simon “ Kephas”’ 
and the sons of Zebedee ‘‘ Boanerges.”” In Acts iv. 36 we are told 
that the apostles named a man called Joseph “ Barnabas” (Saulus 
Paulus does not come under this class). 


CHRISTIAN NAMES 37 


of strenuously asserting that there was nothing -in a 
name. Why, from the days of Trajan onwards they 
were condemned on account of the mere name of 
Christian,” without anyone thinking it necessary to 
inquire if they had actually committed any crime! 
On the other hand, Justin, Athenagoras, and 
Tertullian, the apologists of Christianity, emphasize 
the fact that the name is a hollow vessel, that there 
can be no rational “charge brought against words.” 
—“ except, of course,” adds Tertullian, ‘* when a name 
sounds barbarian or ill-omened, or when it contains 
some insult or impropriety!” ‘Ll-omened”! But 
had “ demonic” names like Saturninus, Serapion, and 
Apollonius no connotation of ill-luck upon the lips 
of Christians, and did not Christians, on the other 
hand, attach a healing virtue to the very language 
of certain formulas (e.g., the utterance of the name 
of Jesus), just as the heathen did? No; surely this 
does not serve to explain the indifference felt by 
Christians towards mythological titles. But if not, 
then how are we to explain it 4 

Hardly any other answer can be given to the 
question save this, that the general custom of the 
world in which people were living proved stronger 
than any reflections of their own. At all times, new 
names have encountered a powerful resistance in the 
plea, “ There is none of thy kindred that is called by 
this name” (Luke i. 61). The result was that people 
retained the old names, just as they had to endorse or 
to endure much that was of the world, so long as they 
were in the world. Nor was it worth while to alter 
the name which one found oneself bearing. Why, 
everyone, be he called Apollonius or Serapion, had 


38 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


already got a second, distinctive, and abiding name 
in baptism, the name of * Christian.” Each individual 
believer bore that as a proper name. In the Acts of 
Carpus (during the reign of Marcus Aurelius) the 
magistrate asked the accused, “* What is thy name?” 
The answer was, ‘“‘ My first and foremost name is that 
of ‘Christian’; but if thou demandest my worldly 
name as well, I am called ‘ Carpus.’” The “ worldly ” 
name was kept up, but it did not count, so to speak, 
as the real name. In the account of the martyrs at 
Lyons, Sanctus the Christian is said to have withheld 
his proper name from the magistrate, contenting him- 
self with the one reply, “1 am a Christian !” 

This one name satisfied people till about the middle 
of the third century, and along with it they bore the 
ordinary names of this world “as though they bore 
them not.” Even surnames with a Christian meaning 
are extremely rare. It is the exception, not the rule, 
to find a man like bishop Ignatius calling himself by 
the additional Christian title of Theophorus at the 
opening of the second century.’ The change came 
first of all a little before the middle of the third 
century. And the surprising thing is that the change, 


1 Other surnames (which were not Christian) also occur among 
Christians ; cp. Tertull., ad Scapulam iv. : ‘‘ Proculus Christianus, qui 
Torpacion cognominabatur.” Similar cases were not unusual at. 
that time. The Christian soldier Tarachus (Acta Tarachi in 
Ruinart’s Acta Martyr., Ratisbon, 1859, p. 452), says: “ My parents 
call me Tarachus, and when I became a soldier I was called Victor ” 
(“a parentibus dicor Tarachus, et cum militarem nominatus sum 
Victor’’). Cyprian (according to Jerome, de vir. illustr. xlviii.) called 
himself Czecilius after the priest who was the means of his conver- 
sion, and besides that he bore the surname of Thascius, so that his 
full name ran, “ Cecilius Cyprianus qui et Thascius’”’ (ep. lxii., an 


CHRISTIAN NAMES 39 


for which the way had been slowly paved, came, not 
in an epoch of religious elevation, but rather in the 
very period during which the church was coming to 
terms with the world on a larger scale than had 
hitherto been the case. Inthe days when Christians 
bore pagan names and nothing more, the dividing line 
between Christianity and the world was drawn much 
more sharply than in the days when they began to call 
themselves Peter and Paul! As so often is the case, 
the forms made their appearance just when the spirit 
was undermined. ‘The principle of “nomen est omen” 
was not contradicted. It remained extraordinarily 
significant. For the name indicates that one has to 
take certain measures in order to keep hold of some- 
thing that is in danger of disappearing. 

In many cases people may not have been conscious 
of this. On the contrary, three reasons were at work. 
One of these I have already mentioned, viz., the 
frequent occurrence throughout the empire (even 
among pagans) of an alteration in a name, and also of 
surnames being added, after the edict of Caracalla (in 
212 a.p.). The second lay in the practice of infant 
baptism, which was now gaining full currency. As 


epistle, too, which is written to a Christian called “ Florentius qui et 
Puppianus”’). Cumont (Les Inscr. chrét. de [ Asie mineure, p. 22) has 
collected a series of examples from the inscriptions, some of which 
are undoubtedly Christian; Dépwv 6 kai Kupuaxds, “Attados émixAnv 
‘Hoatas, Optatina Resticia Pascasia, M. Cecilius Saturninus qui 
et Eusebius, Valentina ancilla quae et Stephana, Ascia vel Maria. 
Of the forty martyrs of Sebaste two bear double names of this kind, 
viz., Acovrios 6 Kal @edxtioros and Bixpatios 6 Kai BiBiaves. In The 
Martyrdom of St Conon we find a Naddwpos 6 kai ’AredARS. The 
martyr Achatius says, “I am called Agathos-angelus”’ (‘‘ vocor 
Agathos-angelus’’ ). 


40 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


a name was conferred upon the child at this solemn 
act, it naturally seemed good to choose a specifically 
Christian name. Thirdly and lastly, and—we may 
add—chiefly, the more the church entered the world, 
the more the world also entered the church. And 
with the world there entered more and more of the 
old pagan superstition that “nomen est omen,” the 
dread felt for words, and, moreover, the old propensity 
for securing deliverers, angels, and spiritual heroes 
upon one’s side, together with the “ pious ” belief that 
one made a saint inclined to be one’s protector and 
patron by taking his name. Such a form of super- 
stition has never been wholly absent from Christi- 
anity, for even the primitive Christians were not 
merely Christians but also Jews, Syrians, Asiatics, 
Greeks, or Romans. But then it was restrained by 
other moods or movements of the Spirit. During 
the third century, however, the local strain again rose 
to the surface. People no longer called their children 
Bacchylus or Aphrodisius with the same readiness, it 
is true. But they began to call themselves Peter 
and Paul in the same sense as the pagans called their 
children Dionysius and Serapion. 

The process of displacing mythological by Christian 
names was carried out very slowly. Nor was it ever 
quite completed, for not a few of the former gradually 
became Christian, thanks to some glorious characters 
who had borne them, and thus entirely lost their 
original meaning. One or two items from the history 
of this process may be adduced at this point in our 
discussion. | 

At the very time when we find only two Biblical 
names (those of Peter and Paul) in a list of eighty- 


CHRISTIAN NAMES 41 


seven episcopal names, bishop Dionysius of Alexandria 
writes that Christians prefer to call their children 
Peter and Paul.’ It was then also that Christian 
changes” of name began to be common. It is noted 
(in EKus., H.E., vi. 30) that Gregory Thaumaturgus 
exchanged the name of Theodore for Gregory, but 
this instance is not quite clear... We are told that a 
certain Sabina, during the reign of Decius (in 250 
A.D.) called herself Theodota when she was asked at 
her trial what was her name.* In the Acta of a 
certain martyr called Balsamus (311 a.p.), the accused 
cries: “According to my paternal name [ am 
Balsamus, but according to the spiritual name which 
I received at baptism, I am Peter.”* Interesting, 
too, is the account given by Eusebius (Mart. Pal., xi. 


1 In Eus., H.E., vii. 25. 14: éo7ep kai 6 Matos odds Kai 87) Kai 6 
Ilérpos év trois Tov miotGv raiciv évopalerar (‘Even as the children 
of the faithful are often called after Paul-and also after Peter’’). 
This is corroborated by an inscription from the third century (de 
Rossi, in Bullett. di archeol. crist. 1867, p. 6): DM M. ANNEO. 
PAVLO . PETRO.M . ANNEVS . PAVLVS: FILIO . CARIS- 
SIMO. The inscription is also interesting on account of the 
fact that Seneca came from this gens. 

2 It has been asserted that Pomponia Grecina retained or 
assumed the name of Lucina as a Christian (de Rossi, Roma Sotterr., 
I. p. 319, II. pp. 362, etc.), but this is extremely doubtful.—Changes 
of name were common among the Jews as well as in the Diaspora 
(see CIG., vol. iv. No. 9905: “Beturia Paula—que bixit ann. 
LXXXVI. meses VI. proselyta ann. XVI. nomine Sara mater 
synagogarum Campi et Bolumni’’). 

3 Did he call himself Gregory as an “ awakened” man ? 

4 Cp. Acta Pionii ix.; this instance, however, is hardly relevant 
to our purpose, as Pionius instructed Sabina to call herself Theodota, 
in order to prevent herself from being identified. 

5 Three martyrs at Lampsacus are called Peter, Paul, and 
Andrew (ep. Ruinart’s Acta Martyr., 1859, pp. 205 f.). 


42 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


7 f.) of five Egyptian Christians who were martyred 
during the Diocletian persecution. They all bore 
Egyptian names. But when the first of them was 
questioned by the magistrate, he replied not with his 
own name but with that of an Old Testament 
prophet. Whereupon Eusebius observes, “This was 
because they had assumed such names in place of the 
names given them by their parents, names probably 
derived from idols; so that one could hear them 
calling themselves Elijah,’ Jeremiah, Isaiah, Samuel, 
and Daniel, thus giving themselves out to be Jews 
in the spiritual sense, even the true and genuine 
Israel of God, not merely by their deeds, but by the 
names they bore.” 

Obviously, the ruling idea here is not yet that of 
patron saints; the prophets are selected as models, 
not as patrons. Even the change of name itself is 
still a novelty. This is borne out by the festal epistles 
of Athanasius in the fourth century, which contain 
an extraordinary number of Christian names, almost 
all of which are the familiar pagan names (Greek or 
Egyptian). Biblical names are still infrequent. In 
one passage, however, writing of a certain Gelous 
Hierakammon, Athanasius does remark that “out of 
shame he took the name of Eulogius in addition to 
his own name.” ” 

It is very remarkable that down to the middle of 
the fourth century Peter and Paul are about the only 
New Testament names to be met with, while Old 
Testament names again are so rare that the above 
case of the five Egyptians who had assumed prophetic 


1 See Mart. Pal., x. 1, for a martyr of this name. 
2 Festal Epistles, ed. by Larsow (p. 80). 


CHRISTIAN NAMES 43 


names must be treated as an exception to the rule. 
Even the name of John, so far as I know, only began 
to appear within the fourth century, and that. slowly. 
On the other hand, we must not here adduce a passage 
from Dionysius of Alexandria, which has been already 
under review. He certainly writes: ‘“ In my opinion, 
many persons [in the apostolic age] had the same 
name as John, for out of love for him, admiring and 
emulating him, and desirous of being loved by the 
Lord even as he was, many assumed the same sur- 
name, just as many of the children of the faithful are 
aiso called Peter and Paul.” But what Dionysius says 
here about the name of John is simply a conjecture 
with regard to the apostolic age, while indirectly, but 
plainly enough, he testifies that Christians in his own 
day were called Peter and Paul, but not John. This 
preference assigned to the name of the two apostolic 
leaders throughout the Kast and West alike is full of 
instruction, and it is endorsed by a passage from 
Kustathius, the bishop of Antioch, who was a con- 
temporary of Athanasius. ‘Many Jews,” he writes, 
“call themselves after the patriarchs and prophets, 
and yet are guilty of wickedness. Many [Christian] 
Greeks call themselves Peter and Paul, and yet behave 
in a most disgraceful fashion.” Evidently these 
people still left the Old ‘Testament names as a rule to 
the Jews, while Peter and Paul continue apparently 
to be the only New Testament names which are 
actually in use. ‘This state of matters lasted till the 
second half of the fourth century. As the saints, 
prophets, patriarchs, angels, etc., henceforth took the 
place of the dethroned gods of paganism, and as the 
stories of these gods were transformed into stories of 


44 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the saints, the supersession of mythological names 
now commenced in real earnest." Now for the first 
time do we often light upon names like John, James, 
Andrew, Simon, and Mary, besides—though much 
more rarely in the West—names from the Old Testa- 
ment. At the close of the fourth century, Chrysostom, 
e.g., exhorts the believers to call their children after 
the saints, so that the saints may serve them as 
examples of virtue. But in giving this counsel he 
does not mention its most powerful motive, a motive 
disclosed by Theodoret, bishop of Cyprus in Syria, 
thirty years afterwards. It is this: that people are to 
give their children the names of saints and martyrs, 
in order to win them the protection and patronage 
of these heroes.” Then and thereafter this was 
the object which dominated the choice of names. 
The result was a selection of names, varying 
with the different countries and provinces; for the 
calendar of the provincial saints and the names of 
famous local bishops who were dead, were taken into 
account alongside of the Bible. As early as the close 
of the fourth century, e.g., people in Antioch liked 
to call their children after the great bishop Meletius. 
Withal, haphazard and freedom of choice always 
played some part in the choice of a name, nor was it 


1 The thirtieth of the Arabic canons of Nica is unauthentie and 
late: ‘ Fideles nomina gentilium filiis suis non imponant ; sed potius 
omnis natio Christianorum suis nominibus utatur, ut gentiles suis 
utuntur, imponanturque nomina Christianorum secundum scripturam 
in baptismo” (“Let not the faithful give pagan names to their 
children. Rather let the whole Christian people use its own names, 
as pagans use theirs, giving children at baptism the names of 
Christians according to the Scripture’’). 

* Graec. affect. curat., viii. p. 923, ed. Schultze. 


CHRISTIAN NAMES 45 


every ear that could grow accustomed to the sound 
of barbarian Semitic names. As has been observed 
already, the Western church was very backward in 
adopting Old ‘Testament names, and this continued 
till the advent of Calvinism. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY, 
AS BEARING UPON THE CHRISTIAN MISSION. THE 
EPISCOPATE.! 


(Curistian preaching aimed at winning souls and 
bringing individuals to God, “that the number of 
the elect might be made up,” but from the very 
outset it worked along the lines of a community 
and proposed to itself the aim of uniting all together 
who believed in Christ. Primarily this union was 
one which consisted of the disciples of Jesus. But, 
as we have already seen, these disciples were conscious 
of being the true Israel and the ecclesia of God. Such 
they held themselves to be. Hence they appropriated 
to themselves the form and well-knit frame of Judaism, 
spiritualizing it and strengthening it, so that by one 
stroke (we may say) they secured a firm and exclusive 
organization. 

But while this organization, embracing all Christians 
on earth, rested in the first instance solely upon 
religious ideas, as a purely ideal conception it would 
hardly have remained effective for any length of 


1 Cp. on this Von Dobschiitz’s die urchristlichen Gemeinden (1902) 
[translated in this library under the title of Christian Life in the 
Primitive Church}. 

46 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 47 


time, had it not been allied to local organization ; 
and Christianity, at the initiative of the original 
apostles and the brethren of Jesus, began by borrowing 
this as well from Judaism, 7.e. from the synagogue. 
Throughout the Diaspora the Christian communities 
developed at first out of the synagogues with their 
proselytes or adherents. Designed to be essentially 
a brotherhood, and springing out of the synagogue, 
the Christian society developed a local organization 
which was of double strength, superior to anything 
achieved by the societies of Judaism. One extremely 
advantageous feature of these local organizations in 
their significance for Christianity falls to be added. 
It was this: every community was at once a unit, 
complete in itself; but it was also a reproduction 
of the collective church of God, and it had to 
recognize and manifest itself as such.” 

Such a religious and social organization, destitute 
of any political or national basis, was a novel and 
unheard-of thing upon the soil of Greek and Roman 

1 We cannot discuss the influence which the Greek and Roman 
guilds may have exercised upon Christianity. In any case it can “ 
have borne merely on certain forms, not on the essential fact itself 
or on its fixed nature. 

2 We do not know how this remarkable conviction arose, but 
it lies perfectly plain upon the surface of the apostolic and post- 
apostolic ages. It did not originate in Judaism, since—to my 
knowledge—the individual Jewish synagogue did not look upon 
itself in this light. Nor did the conception spring up at a single 
stroke. Even in Paul two contradictory conceptions still lie un- 
explained together; for while on the one hand he regards each 
community, so to speak, as a “church of God,” sovereign, inde- 
pendent, and responsible for itself, on the other hand his churches 
are at the same time his own creations, which consequently remain 


under his control and training, and are in fact even threatened by 
him with the rod. He is their father and their schoolmaster. 


48 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


life, where religious and social organizations only 
existed as a rule in quite a rudimentary form. All 
that people could think of in this connection was one or 
two schools of philosophy, whose common life was also 
a religious life. But here was a society which united 
fellow-believers, who were resident in any city, in the 
closest of ties, presupposing a relationship which was 
assumed as a matter of course to last through life 
itself, furnishing its members not only with a holy 
unction administered once and for all or from time to 
time, but with a daily bond which provided them 
with spiritual benefits and imposed duties on them, 
assembling them at first daily and then weekly, 
shutting them off from other people, uniting them 
in a guild of worship, a friendly society, and an order 
with a definite line of life in view, besides teaching 
them to consider themselves the community of God. 
Neophytes, of course, had to get accustomed or 
trained at first to a society of this kind, which ran 
counter to all the requirements made by any other 
cultus or holy rite upon its devotees, however much 
the existing guild-life may have paved the way for it 


Here the apostolic authority, and, what is more, the general and 
special authority, of the apostle as the founder of a church, invade 
and delimit the authority of the individual community, since the 
latter has to respect and follow the rules laid down and enforced 
by the apostle throughout all his churches. This he had the right 
to expect. But, as we see from the epistles to the Corinthians, and 
especially from the second, conflicts were inevitable. Then again 
in 3 John we have an important source of information, for here the 
head of a local church is openly rebelling and asserting his inde- 
pendence against the control of an apostle who attempts to rule 
the church by means of messengers. When Ignatius reached Asia 
not long afterwards, the idea of the sovereignty of the individual 
church had triumphed. 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 49 


along several lines. That its object should be the 
common edification of the members, that the community 
was therefore to be like a single body with many 
members, that every member was to be subordinate 
to the whole body, that one member was to suffer 
and rejoice with another, that Jesus Christ did not ., 
call individuals apart but built them up into a society / 
in which the individual got his place—all these were 
lessons which had to be learnt. Paul’s epistles prove 
how vigorously and unweariedly he taught them, 
and it is perhaps the weightiest feature both in 
Christianity and in the work of Paul that, so far 
from being overpowered, the impulse towards 
association was most powerfully intensified by the 
individualism which here attained its zenith. For to 
what higher form can individualism rise than that 
reached by means of the all-embracing counsel, “ Save 
thy soul”? Brotherly love constituted the lever, and 
also the entrance into that most wealthy inheritance, 
the inheritance of the firmly organized church of 
Judaism. In addition to this there was also the< 
wonderful and practical idea, to which allusion has 
already been made, of setting the collective church 
(as an ideal fellowship) and the individual community 
in such a relationship that whatever was true of the 
one could be predicated also of the other, the church 
of Corinth or of Ephesus, e.g., being the church of 
God. Quite apart from the content of these social 
formations, no statesman and politician can withhold 
the highest tribute of admiration from the solution 
which was thus devised for one of the most serious 
problems of any large organization, viz., how to 


maintain intact the complete autonomy of the local 
VOL. Il. 4 


50 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


communities and at the same time to bind them up 
in a general nexus, possessed of strength and unity, 
which should embrace all the empire and gradually 
develop also into a collective organization. 

What a sense of stability a creation of this kind 
must have conferred upon the individual! What 
powers of attraction it must have exercised, as soon 
as its objects came to be understood! It was this, 
and not any evangelist, which proved to be the most 
effective missionary. In fact, we may take it as an 
assured fact that the mere existence and persistent 
activity of the individual Christian communities did 
more than anything else to bring about the extension 
of the Christian religion." 

Hence also the injunction, repeated over and again, 
“let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves to- 


1 We possess no detailed account of the origin of any Christian 
community, for the narrative of Acts is extremely summary, and the 
epistles of Paul presuppose the existence of the various churches. 
Acts indeed is not interested in the local churches. It is only 
converted brethren that come within its ken, its pages reflecting 
but the onward rush of the Christian mission, till that mission is 
merged in the legal proceedings against Paul. The apocryphal 
Acts are of hardly any use. But from 1 Thessalonians, 1 Corin- 
thians, and Acts, we can infer one or two traits. Thus while 
Paul invariably attaches himself to Jews, where such were to be 
found, and preaches in the synagogues, the result actually is that 
the small communities which thus arose are drawn mainly from 
“ God-fearing”’ pagans, and upon the whole from pagans in general, 
not from Jews. Those who were first converted naturally stand in 
an important relation to the organization of the churches (Clem. 
Rom. xlii.: of dadécroAo. Kata xwpas Kal modes KNpvoGoVTES . .. . 
kabicravoy Tas arapxas aitadv, Soxipdoavres TO Tvevpart, eis eTLTKOTOUS 
kal duakdvous TOv peAdOvTwv mioTedev = Preaching throughout the 
country districts and cities, the apostles . . .. appointed those 
who were their firstfruits, after proving them by the Spirit, to be 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 51 


gether,” — “as some do,” adds the epistle to the 
Hebrews (x. 25). At first and indeed always there 
were naturally some people who imagined that one 
could secure the holy contents and blessings of Christi- 
anity as one did those of Isis or the Magna Mater, and 
then withdraw. Or, in cases where people were not 
so shortsighted, levity, laziness, or weariness were 
often enough to detach a person from the society. 
A vainglorious sense of superiority and of being able 
to dispense with the spiritual aid of the society, was 
also the means of inducing many to withdraw from 
fellowship and from the common worship. Many, 
too, were actuated by fear of the authorities; they 
avoided attendance at public worship, to prevent 
themselves being recognized as Christians.’ 


bishops and deacons for those who were to believe); as we learn 
from 1 Thess. v. 12 f. and Phil. i. 1, a sort of local superintendence 
at once arose in certain of the communities. But what holds true 
of the Macedonian churches is by no means true of all the churches, 
‘at least during the initial period, for it is obvious that in Galatia and 
at Corinth no organization whatsoever was in existence for a decade, 
oreven longer. The brethren submitted to a control of “the Spirit.” 
In Acts xiv. 23 (yepotovyoavres aitots Kat éxxAnoiav mpeoButépous) 
the allusion may be accurate as regards one or two communities 
(cp. also Clem. Rom. xliv.), but it is an extremely questionable 
statement if it is held to imply that the apostles regularly 
appointed officials in every locality, and that these were in all 
eases “‘presbyters.” Acts only mentions church-officers at Jeru- 
salem (xv. 4) and Ephesus (xx. 28, presbyters who are invested 
with episcopal powers). 

1 Cp. Tertullian, de fuga iii.: “Timide conveniunt in ecclesiam : 
dicitis enim, quoniam incondite convenimus et simul convenimus 
et complures concurrimus in ecclesiam, quaerimur a nationibus et 
timemus, ne turbentur nationes” (“They gather to church with 
trembling. For, you say, since we assemble in disorder, simultan- 
eously, and in great numbers, the heathen make enquiries, and we 
are afraid of stirring them up against us’’). 


md 


52 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


“Seek what is of common profit to all,” says 
Clement of Rome (ec. xlvii.). “Keep not apart by 
yourselves in secret,” says Barnabas (iv. 10), “as if 
you were already justified, but meet together and 
confer upon the common weal.” Similar passages 
are often to be met with.’ The worship on Sunday 
is of course obligatory, but even at other times the 
brethren are expected to meet as often as possible. 
“Thou shalt seek out every day the company of the 
saints, to be refreshed by their words” (Did., iv. 2). 
“ We are constantly in company with one another,” 
says Justin in his description of the Sunday worship 
(Apol., I. Ixvii.), in order to show that this is not the 
only place of fellowship. Ignatius,’ too, advocates 
over and over again more frequent meetings of the 
church; in fact, his letters are written, in the first 
instance, for the purpose of binding the individual 
member as closely as possible to the community and 
thus securing him against error, temptation, and 
apostasy. The means to this end is the increased 
significance attaching to the church. In the church 


alone all blessings are to be had, in its ordinances 


and organizations. It is only the church firmly 


1 Herm., Simil., IX. xx.: obrou ot év rodXois kat rorkihas mpary- 
pareiars eurrepuppevor ov KoAAGvTar Tots SovAots Tod Beod, GAN azo- 
mArAavavta (“ These, being involved in many different kinds of 
occupations, do not cleave to the servants of God, but go astray’’) ; 
IX. xxvi.: yevopuevor epnuwddes, ui) KoAAGpevor Tots SovAoLs TOD Oeod, 
GANA povalovtes aroAAVovar Tas EavTav Woxas (‘Having become barren, 
they cleave not to the servants of God, but keep apart and so lose 
their own souls”). 

2 Cp. Ephes. xiii. : ozovddlere ruxvotepov ovvépyer Gar cis edyapioriay 
Geod (“ endeavour to meet more frequently for the praise of God”’) ; 
Polyc. iv.: muxvérepov cvvaywyai ywéoOwoay (“let meetings be held 
more frequently”); cp. also Magn. iv. 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 53 


equipped with bishop, presbyters, and deacons, with 
common worship and with sacraments, which is the 
creation of God.' Consequently beyond its pale 
nothing is to be found save error and sin; all 
clandestine meetings for worship are also to be 
eschewed, and no teacher who arises from outside is 
to get a hearing, unless he is certificated by the 
church. “The absolute subordination of Christians 
to the local community has never been more per- 
emptorily demanded, the position of the local com- 
munity itself has never been more eloquently laid 
down, than in these primitive documents. Their 
eager admonitions reveal the seriousness of the 
peril which threatened the individual Christian, who 
should even in the faintest degree emancipate himself 
from the community; thereby he would fall a prey 
to the “errorists,” or glide over into paganism. , At 
this point even the heroes of the church were threat- 


1 The common worship, with its centre in the celebration of 
the Supper, is the cardinal point. No other cultus could point 
to such a ceremony, with its sublimity and unction, its brotherly 
feeling and many-sidedness. Here every experience, every spiritual 
need, found nourishment. The collocation of prayer, praise, 
preaching, and the reading of the Word, was modelled upon 
the worship of the synagogue, and must already have made 
a deep impression upon pagans; but with the addition of the 
feast of the Lord’s supper, an observance was introduced which, 
for all its simplicity, could be and actually was regarded from 
the most diverse standpoints. It was a mysterious, divine gift 
of knowledge and of life; it was a thanksgiving, a sacrifice, a 
representation here and now of the death of Christ, a love-feast of 
the brotherhood, a support of the hungry and distressed. No single 
observance could well be more than that, and it preserved this 
character for long, even after it had passed wholly into the region 
of the mysterious. The members of the church took home portions 
of the consecrated bread, and consumed them during the week. 


54 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


ened by a peril, which is singled out also for notice. 
As men who had a special connection with Christ, and 
who were quite aware of this connection, they could 
not well be subject to orders from the churches ; but 
it was recognized even at this early period that if 
they became “inflated” with pride and held aloof 
from the fellowship of the church, they might easily 
come to grief. Thus when the haughty martyrs of 
Carthage and Rome, both during and after the 
Decian persecution, came to set up cross-currents in 
the churches and to uplift themselves against the 
officials, the great bishops finally resolved to humble 
them under the laws common to the whole church. 
While the individual Christian had a position of 
his own within the organization of the church, he 
thereby lost, however, a part of his autonomy along 
with his fellows. The so-called Montanist contro- 


I have already (vol. i. pp. 190 f.) discussed the question how far 
the communities in their worship were also unions for charitable 
support, and how influential must have been their efforts in this 
direction.—A whole series of testimonies, from Pliny to Arnobius 
(iv. 36) proves that the preaching to which people listened every 
Sunday, was directed in the first place towards the inculcation 
of morality: “In conventiculis summus oratur deus, pax cunctis et 
venia postulatur magistratibus exercitibus regibus familiaribus 
inimicis, adhue vitam degentibus et resolutis corporum vinctione, 
in quibus aliud auditur nihil nisi quod humanos faciat, nisi quod 
mites, verecundos, pudicos, castos, familiaris communicatores rei et 
cum omnibus vobis solidae germanitatis necessitudine copulatos”’ 
(‘At our meetings prayers are offered to Almighty God, peace and 
pardon are asked for all in authority, for soldiers, kings, friends, 
enemies, those still in life, and those freed from the bondage of 
the flesh; at these gatherings nothing is said except what makes 
people humane, gentle, modest, virtuous, chaste, generous in 
dealing with their substance, and closely knit to all of you within 
he bonds of brotherhood ’’). 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 55 


versy was in the last resort not merely a struggle to 
secure a stricter habit of life as against a laxer, but 
also the struggle of a more independent religious 
attitude and activity as against one which was pre- 
scribed and uniform. The outstanding personalities, 
the individuality of certain people, had to suffer in 
order that the majority might not become unmanage- 
able or apostates. Such has ever: been, such must 
ever be, the case in human history. It was only after 
the Montanist conflict that the church, as individual 
and collective, attained the climax of its development ; 
henceforth it became an object of desire, coveted by 
everyone who was on the look-out for power, inas- 
much as it had extraordinary forces at its disposal. 
It now bound the individual closely to itself; it 
held him, bridled him, and dominated his religious life 
in all directions. Yet it was not long before the 
monastic movement originated, a movement which, 
while it recognized the church in theory (doubt upon 
this point being no longer possible), set it aside in 
actual practice. 

The progress of the development of the juridical 
organization from the firmly organized local church’ 
to the provincial church,’ from that again to the 
larger league of churches, a league which realized 
itself in synods covering many provinces, and finally 


1 Christians described themselves at the outset as zapo.kodvtes 
(“sojourners” ; ep. p. 13); the church was technically “the church | 
sojourning in the city” (% éxkAyola 7 rapotxotoa thy rodww), but it 
rapidly became a very definite creation, nor did it by any means 
stand out as a structure destined to crumble away. 

2 How far this ascent, when viewed from other premisses which 
are equally real, corresponded to a descent, may be seen from the 
Excursus to this chapter. 


56 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


from that league to the collective church, which of 
course was never quite realized as an organization, 
though it was always present in idea—this develop- 
ment also contributed to the strengthening of the 
Christian self-consciousness and missionary activity.’ 
It was indeed a matter of moment to be able to pro- 
claim that this church not only embraced humanity 
in its religious conceptions, but also presented itself 
to the eye as a great single league stretching from one 
side of the empire to another, and, in fact, passing out 
beyond even these imperial boundaries. This church 
arose through the co-operation of the Christian ideal 
with the empire, and thus every great force which 
operated in this sphere had also its part to play in 
the building up of the church, viz., the universal 
Christian idea of a bond of humanity (which, at root, 
denoted, of course, nothing but a bond of the scattered 
elect throughout mankind), the Jewish church, and 
the Roman empire. The last named, as has been 
rightly pointed out, became bankrupt on the basis of 
the church;* and the same might be said of the 
Jewish church, whose powers of attraction ceased for 
a large circle of people, so soon as the Christian 
church had developed, the latter taking them over 
into its own life. Whether the Christian communities 


1 Tert., de praescript. xx.: “Sic omnes [se. ecclesiae] primae et 
omnes apostolicae, dum una omnes, probant unitatem communicatio 
pacis et appellatio fraternitatis et contesseratio hospitalis, quae iura 
non alia natio regit quam eiusdem sacramenti una traditio”’ (‘Thus 
all are primitive and all apostolic, since they are all alike certified by 
their union in the communion of peace, the title of brotherhood, 
and the interchange of hospitable friendship—rights whose only rule 
is the one tradition of the same mystery in all”). 

2 It revived, however, in the Western church. 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 57 


were as free creations as they were in the first century, 
or productive of external ordinances as definite and 
of a union as comprehensive as was the case in the 
third century—in either case these communities 
operated with magnetic force on thousands, and they 
proved of extraordinary service to the Christian 
mission. 

Within the church-organization the most weighty 
and significant creation was that of the monarchical 
episcopate.’ It was the bishops, properly speaking, 
who held together the individual members of the 
churches; their rise marked the close of the period 
during which charismata and offices were in a state 
of mutual flux, the individual relying only upon God, 
himself, and spiritually endowed brethren. After the 
close of the second century bishops were the teachers, 
high priests, and judges of the church; on their 
demeanour the churches depended almost entirely 
for weal or woe. As the office grew to maturity, it 
seemed like an original creation ; but this was simply 
because it drew to itself from all quarters both the 
powers and the forms of life. 

The extent to which the episcopate, along with 
the other clerical offices which it controlled, formed 
the backbone of the church,’ is shown by the fierce 


1 [ leave out of account here all the preparatory steps. It was 
with the monarchical episcopate that this office first became a power 
in Christendom, and it does not fall within the scope of the present 
sketch to investigate the preliminary stages—a task of some difficulty, 
owing to the fragmentary nature of the sources and the varieties of 
the original organization throughout the different churches. 

2 Naturally it came more and more to mean the position which 
was well-pleasing to God and specially dear to him; this is implied 
already in the term “ priest,’ which became current after the close 


58 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


war waged against it by the State during the third 
century (Maximinus Thrax, Decius, Valerian, 
Diocletian, Daza, Licinius), as well as from many 
isolated facts. In the reign of Marcus Aurelius, 
Dionysius of Corinth writes to the church of Athens 
(Eus., HH., iv. xxii.) that while it had well-nigh 
fallen from the faith, after the death of its martyred 
bishop Publius, its new bishop Quadratus had _ re- 
organized it and filled it with fresh zeal for the faith. 
Cyprian (ep. lv. 11) tells how in the persecution 
bishop Trophimus had lapsed along with a large 
section of the church, and had offered sacrifice; but 
on his return and penitence, the rest followed him, 
“qui omnes regressuri ad ecclesiam non essent, nisi 
cum Trofimo comitante venissent” (‘‘none of whom 
would have returned to the church, had they not had 
the companionship of 'Trophimus”). When Cyprian 
lingered in retreat during the persecution of Decius, 
the whole community threatened to lapse. So that 
one sees clearly the significance of the bishop for 
the church ; with him it fell, with him it stood,’ and 


of the second century. Along with the higher class of heroic 
figures (ascetics, virgins, confessors), the church also possessed a 
second upper class of clerics, as was well known to pagans in the 
third century. Thus the pagan in Macarius Magnes (III. xvii.) 
writes, a propos of Matt. xvii. 20, xxi. 21 (“have faith as a grain 
of mustard-seed”’): ‘He who has not so much faith as this is 
certainly unworthy of being reckoned among the brotherhood of 
the faithful; so that the majority of Christians, it follows, are not 
to be counted among the faithful, and in fact even among the 
bishops and presbyters there is not one who deserves this name,” 

1 This is the language also of the heathen judge to bishop Achatius: 
“a shield and succourer of the region of Antioch ” (“scutum quoddam 
ac refugium Antiochiae regionis’’; Ruinart, Acta Mart., Ratisb., 1859, 
p. 201): “Veniet tecum [7.e. if you return to the old gods} omnis 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 59 


at all times a vacancy or interregnum constitutes a 
serious crisis for any church. Without being properly 
a missionary, the bishop exercised a missionary 
function. In especial, he preserved individuals 
from relapsing into paganism, while any bishop who 
really filled his post was the means of winning 
over many fresh adherents, as we know, e.g., from 
the case of Cyprian or of Gregory Thaumaturgus. 
The episcopal dignity was at once heightened and 
counterbalanced by the institution of the synods 
which arose in Greece and Asia (modelled possibly 
upon the federal diets), and eventually were adopted 
by a large number of provinces after the opening of 
the third century. On the one hand, this associa- 
tion of the bishops entirely took away the rights of 
the laity, who found before very long that it was no 
use now to leave their native church in order to settle 
down in another. Yet a synod, on the other hand, 


populus, ex tuo pendet arbitrio” (‘“ All the people will accompany 
you, for they hang on your decision”). The bishop answers of 
course: ‘Illi omnes non meo nutu, sed dei praecepto reguntur ; 
audiant me itaque, ‘si iusta persuadeam, sin vero perversa et 
nocitura, contemnant” (“They are ruled, not by my beck and call, 
but all of them by God’s counsel; wherefore let them hearken to 
me, if I persuade them to what is right; but despise me, if I counsel 
what is perverse and mischievous” ).—Hermas (Sim., IX. xxxi.) says 
of the shepherds, “sin aliqua e pecoribus dissipata invenerit 
dominus, vae erit pastoribus. quod si ipsi pastores dissipati reperti 
fuerint, quid respondebunt pro pecoribus his? numquid dicunt, a 
pecore se vexatos? non credetur illis. incredibilis enim res est, 
pastorem pati posse a pecore”’ (“But if the master finds any of 
the sheep scattered, woe to the shepherds. For if the shepherds 
themselves be found scattered, how will they answer for these 
sheep? Will they say that they were themselves worried by the 
flock? Then they will not be believed, for it is absurd that a 
shepherd should be injured by his sheep”’). 


60 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


imposed restraints upon the arbitrary actions of 
a bishop, setting itself forth as an_ ecclesiastical 
“forum publicum” to which he was _ responsible. 
The correspondence of Cyprian presents several 
examples of individual bishops being thus brought up 
by synods for arbitrary conduct and transgressions. 
Before very long too (may be, from the very outset) 
the synod, this ‘“representatio totius nominis 
Christiani,” appeared in the lght of a specially 
trustworthy organ of the holy Spirit. The synods 
which expanded in the course of the third century 
from provincial synods to larger councils, and which 
would seem to have anticipated Diocletian’s redistribu- 
tion of the empire in the East, naturally gave an 
extraordinary impetus to the prestige and authority 
of the church, and thereby heightened its powers of 
attraction. Yet the entire synodal system really 
flourished in the East alone (and to some extent 
in Africa). In the West it no more burst into blossom 
than did the system of metropolitans, a fact which 
was of vital moment to the position of Rome and of 
the Roman bishop.' 

One other problem has finally to be considered at 
this point, a problem which is of great importance for 
the statistics of the church. — It is this: how strong 


1 I do not enter here into the development of the constitution 
in detail, although by its close relation to the divisions of the empire 
it bears at many vital points upon the history of the Christian 
mission (see Liibeck, Ieichseinteilung und kirchlich Hierarchie des 
Orients bis zum ausgang des 4. Jahrhunderts, 1901). Be it noted 
only that the ever-increasing dependence of the Eastern church 
upon the redistributed empire (a redistribution which conformed 
to national boundaries) imperilled by degrees the unity of the 
church and the universalism of Christianity, The church began 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 61 


was the tendency to create independent forms within 
the Christian communities, z7.e. to form complete 
episcopal communities? Does the number of com- 
munities which were episcopally organized actually 
denote the number of the communities in general, or 
were there, either as a whole or in a large number of 
provinces, a considerable number of communities 
which possessed no bishops of their own, but had 
only presbyters or deacons, and which were de- 
pendent upon an outside bishop? The following 
Excursus' is devoted to the answering of this important 
question. Its aim is to show that the creation of 
complete episcopal communities was the general rule 
in most provinces (excluding Egypt) down to the 
middle of the third century, however small might be 
the number of Christians in any locality, and however 
insignificant might be the locality itself. 

As important, if not still more important, was 
the tendency, which operated from the very first, to 
have all the Christians in a given locality united in 
a single community. As the Pauline epistles prove, 
house-churches were tolerated at the outset (we do 
not know how long), but obviously their position was 
(originally or very soon afterwards) that of members 


by developing harmony and vigour in this sphere of action, but 
centrifugal influences soon commenced to play upon her, influ- 
ences which are perceptible as early as the Paschal controversy of 
190 a.p. between Rome and Asia, which are vital by the time 
of the controversy over the baptism of heretics, and which at last 
appear as disintegrating forces in the fourth and fifth centuries. 
In the West the Roman bishop knew how to restrain them with 
admirable effect, evincing both tenacity and clearness of purpose. 

1 Read before the Royal Prussian Academy of Science, on 28th 
Nov. 1901 (pp. 1186 f.). 


62 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


belonging to the local community as a whole. This 
original relationship is, of course, as obscure to us as 
is the evaporation of such churches. Conflicts there 
must have been at first, and even attempts to set up 
a number of independent Christian @aco ina city; for 
the “schisms” at Corinth, combated by Paul, would 
seem to point in this direction. Nor is it quite 
certain whether, even after the formation of the 
monarchical episcopate, there were not cases here and 
there of two or more episcopal communities existing 
in a single city. But even if this obtained in certain 
cases, their number must have been very small; nor 
can these alter the general stamp of the Christian 
organization throughout its various branches, 2.e. the 
general constitution according to which every locality 
where Christians were to be found had its own 
independent community, and only one community. 
This organization, with its simplicity and naturalness, 
proved itself extraordinarily strong. No doubt, the 
community was soon obliged to extend the full force 
of its anti-pagan exclusiveness against such brethren 
of its own number as refused submission to the 
church upon any pretext whatsoever. The sad 
passion for heresy-hunting, which obtained among 
Christians as early as the second century, was not only 
a result of their fanatical devotion to true doctrine, 
but quite as much an outcome of their rigid organiza- 
tion and of the exalted predicates of honour which 
they applied to themselves as “the church of God.” 
Here the reverse of the medal is to be seen. The 
community’s valuation of itself, its claim to represent 
the &xcAyoia tod Oeod (“the church of God” or “the 
Catholic church” in Corinth, Ephesus, etc.) made 


ORGANIZATION OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 63 


it eventually unable to recognize or tolerate any 
Christianity whatsoever outside its own boundaries.’ 


1 Celsus had already laid sharp stress on heresy-hunting and the 
passion with which Christians fought one another: BAacdypotow 
eis GAAHAOvS ObTOL TavdEa pyTa Kal dppyta, Kal ovK ay clgarev ObdE KAP? 
driodv «is Spovovav TavTy GAAHAOVS aroctvyodvTes (V. Ixiii.: “These 
people utter all sorts of blasphemy, mentionable and unmentionable, 
against one another, nor will they give way in the smallest point 
for the sake of concord, hating each other with a perfect hatred’). 


EXCURSUS. 


ECCLESIASTICAL ORGANIZATION AND THE EPIS- 
COPATE, FROM PIUS TO CONSTANTINE. 


“Tn 1 Tim. i. (where only bishops and deacons are 
mentioned) the apostle Paul has not forgotten the 
presbyters, for at first the same officials bore the 
name of ‘presbyter’ as well as that of ‘bishop.’. . . 
Those who had the power of ordination and are 
now called ‘bishops’ were not appointed to a single 
church but to a whole province, and bore the name 
‘of ‘apostles. Thus St Paul set Timothy over all 
Asia, and Titus over Crete. And plainly he also 
appointed other individuals to other provinces in the 
same way, each of whom was to take charge of a 
whole province, making circuits through all the 
churches, ordaining clergy for ecclesiastical work 
wherever it was necessary, solving any difficult 
questions which had arisen among them, setting 
them right by means of addresses on doctrine, treating 
sore sins in a salutary fashion, and in general dis- 
charging all the duties of a superintendent—all the 
towns, meanwhile, possessing the presbyters of whom 
I have spoken, men who ruled their respective 
churches. Thus in that early age there existed those 


who are now called bishops, but who were then called 
64 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 65. 


apostles, discharging functions for a whole province 
which those who are nowadays ordained to the epis- 
copate discharge for a single city and a single district. 
Such was the organization of the church in those 
days. But when the faith became widely spread, 
filling not merely towns, but also country districts 
with believers,’ then, as the blessed apostles were 


now dead, came those who took charge of the whole | 
[province]. They were not equal to their predecessors, | 


however, nor could they certify themselves, as did 
the earlier leaders, by means of miracles, while in 
many other respects they showed their inferiority. 
Deeming it therefore a burden to assume the title 
of ‘apostles,’ they distributed the other titles [which 
had hitherto been synonymous], leaving that of 
‘presbyters’ to the presbyters, and assigning that 
of ‘bishops’ to those who possessed the right of 
ordination, and who were consequently entrusted 
with leadership over all the church. ‘These formed the 
majority, owing, in the first instance, to the necessity 
of the case, but subsequently also, on account of 
the generous spirit shown by those who arranged 
the ordinations.” For at the outset there were but 
two, or at most three, bishops usually in a province 


1 Gk. : péyiorae dé od odes povov GANG Kal yOpat TOV TETLTTELKOTWV 
joav, Lat. version=repletae autem sunt non modo civitates cred- 
entium, sed regiones. Read peoraé therefore instead of peyorae. 

2 Gk. : dua ev tHv xpelav TO mpOrov, vortepov 5é Kai bd fiAoripias 
Tov mootvrwy. Ambition, it might be conjectured, would be 
mentioned as the motive at work, but in that case tév rovovvTwv 
would require to be away. cAozi/a therefore must mean “ liberal 
spirit,’ and this is the interpretation given in the Latin version: 
_ © Postea vero et illis adiecti sunt alii liberalitate eorum qui ordina- 
tiones faciebant.” : 

VoL. IL. 5 


66 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


—a state of matters which prevailed in most of the 
Western provinces until quite recently, and which 
may still be found in several, even at the present day. 
As time went on, however, bishops were ordained 
not merely in towns, but also in small districts, where 
there was really no need of anyone being yet invested 
with the episcopal office.” 

So Theodore of Mopsuestia in his commentary 
upon first Timothy.’ The assertion that “ bishop” 
and “presbyter” were identical in primitive ages 
occurs frequently about the year 400, but 'Theodore’s 
statements in general are, to the best of my know- 
ledge, unique; they represent an attempt to depict 
the primitive organization of the church, and to 
explain the most important revolution which had 
taken place in the history of the church’s constitution. 
Theodore’s idea is, in brief, as follows. From the 
outset, he remarks—.e. in the apostolic age, or by 
original apostolic institution—there was a monarchical 
office in the churches, to which pertained the right of 
ordination. ‘This office was one belonging to the 
provincial churches (each province possessing a single 
superintendent), and its title was that of “apostle.” 
Individual communities, again, were governed by 
bishops (presbyters) and deacons. Once the apostles * 
(2.e. the original apostles) had died, however, a re- 
volution took place. The motives assigned to this 


1 See Swete’s Theodori episcopi Mopsuesteni in epp. 6. Pauli 
commentarit, vol. ii. (1882), pp. 121 f. 

2 This is the first point of obscurity in Theodore’s narrative. 
“The blessed apostles” are not all the men whom he has first 
mentioned as ‘‘apostles,” but either the apostles in the narrowest 
sense of the term or else these taken together with men like 
Timothy and Titus. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 67 


by Theodore are twofold: in the first place, the 
spread of the Christian religion, and in the second 
place, the weakness felt by the second generation of 
the apostles themselves. ‘The latter therefore resolved 
(i) to abjure and thus abolish ' the name of “ apostle,” 
and (11) to distribute the monarchical power, 7.e. the 
right of ordination, among several persons through- 
out a province. Hence the circumstance of two or 
three bishops existing in the same province—the 
term “bishop” being now employed in the sense of 
monarchical authority. That state of matters was 
the rule until quite recently in most of the Western 
provinces, and it still survives in several of them. 
In the East, however, it has not lasted. Partly owing 
to the requirements of the case (z.e. the increase of 
Christianity throughout the provinces), partly owing 
to the “liberality” of the apostles,? the number of 
the bishops has multiplied, so that not only towns, 
but even villages, have come into possession of 
bishops, although there was no real need for such 
appointments. 

We must in the first instance credit Theodore with 
being sensible of the fact that the organization of 
the primitive churches was originally on the broadest 
scale, and only came down by degrees (to the local 


1 This has to be supplied by the reader (which is the second 
obscure point); the text has merely Bapd vouicavtes tiv tov 
arootoAwy éxew tpoonyopiav. Theodore says nothing about what 
became of them after they gave up their name and rights. 

* This is the third point of obscurity in Theodore’s statement. 
By diroripia tHv zrowvvTwy it seems necessary to understand the 
generosity of the retiring “apostles,” and yet the process went on 
—according to Theodore himself—even after these apostles had long 
left the scene. 


68 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


communities). Such was indeed the case. The 
whole was prior to the part. That is, the organiza- 
tion effected by the apostles was in the first place 
universal, its scope being the provinces of the church. 
It is Judea, Samaria, Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, Asia, 
Macedonia, etc., that are present to the minds of the 
apostles, and figure in their writings. Just as in the 
missions of the present day, outside sects capture 
‘‘ Brandenburg,” ‘‘ Saxony,” and “ Bavaria,” by 
getting a firm foothold in Berlin, Dresden, Minich, 
and a few more important cities; just as they forth- 
with embrace the whole province in their thoughts 
and in some of the measures which they take, so 
was it then. Secondly, Theodore’s observation upon 
the extension of the term ‘“ apostle ” is in itself quite 
accurate. But it is just at this point, of course, that 
our doubts begin. It is inherently improbable that 
the apostles, z.e. the twelve together with Paul, 
appointed the other “apostles” (in the wider sense 
of the word) collectively; besides, it is contradicted 
by positive evidence to the contrary,’ and 'Theodore’s 
statement of it may be very simply explained as due 
to the preconceived opinion that everything must 
ultimately run back to the apostles’ institution. 
Further, the idea of each province having an apostle- 
bishop set over it is a conjecture based on no real 
evidence, while it is contradicted by all that we know 
of the universal ecclesiastical nature of the apostolic 
office. Finally, it is at least impossible for us to 
subject to any proof the statement which would bind 

1 Compare the remarks of Paul and the Didaché upon apostles, 


prophets, and teachers. The apostles are appointed by God or 
* the Spirit.” 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 69 


up the right of ordination exclusively with the office 
of the apostle-bishop. In all these aspects Theodore 
seems to have introduced into his sketch of the 
primitive churches’ organization features which are 
simply prevailing conceptions of his own day, and 
hazardous hypotheses. Moreover, we can still show 
how slender are the grounds on which his conjectures 
rest. Unless I am mistaken, he has nothing at his 
disposal in the shape of materials beyond the 
traditional idea, drawn from the pastoral epistles, 
of the position occupied by Timothy and Titus in 
the church, as well as the ecclesiastical notices and 
legends of the work of John in Asia.’ All this he 
has generalized, evolving therefrom the conception 
of a general appointment of “apostles” who are 
equivalent to ‘ provincial bishops.”” ‘* Apostles ” are 


1 It is even probable that he has particularly in mind, along 
with Tit. i. 5 f. and 1 Tim. iii. 1 f., the well-known passage in 
Clem. Alex., quis dives salvetur (cp. Eus., H.E., II. xxiii.), for his 
delineation of the tasks pertaining to the apostle-bishop coincides 
substantially with what is narrated of the work of John in that 
passage (§ 6: dou piv émickdrous Katacryowr, Grou 6& das éxxAyoias 
appoowy, Orov dé kAypw eva yé Twa KAypdowv TOv=iTd TOD mvevpaTos 
onpawopevev =“ Appointing bishops in some quarters, arranging the 
affairs of whole churches in other quarters, and elsewhere selecting 
for the ministry some one of those indicated by the Spirit”; ep. 
also the description of how John dealt with a difficult case). 

2 Clem. Rom. xl. f. cannot have been present to his mind, for 
his remarkable and ingenious idea of the identity of “apostles” 
and “ provincial bishops” would have been shattered by a passage 
in which it is quite explicitly asserted that the apostles cata xwpas 
Kat modes KypvocovTes Kal Tos trakovovTas TH Bovryce Tov Geod 
Bamrilovres kabicravov Tas arapxas aitdv, SoKiudcavTes TO Tvevpari, 
eis ErurKOrous Kal diakdvors Tov peAAdvTMY TiOTEvELY (see above- 
p- 50), while xlii. describes a succession, not of apostles one after 
another, but of bishops. 


70 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


equivalent to “provincial bishops”; such is Theo- 
dore’s conception, and the conception is a fantasy. 
Whether it contains any hidden kernel of historical 
truth, we shall see later on. Meantime we must, 
in the first instance, follow up Theodore’s statements 
a little further. 

He is right in recognizing that any survey of the 
origin of the church’s organization must be based 
upon the apostles and their missionary labours. We 
may add, the organization which arose during and 
owing to the mission would attempt to maintain 
itself even after local authorities and institutions had 
been called into being which asserted rights of their 
own. But the distinctive trait in Theodore’s con- 
ception consists in the fact that he knows absolutely 
nothing of any originally constituted rights appertain- 
ing to local authorities. He has no eyes for all that 
the New ‘Testament and the primitive Christian 
writings, as a whole, contain upon this point; for 
even here, in his view, everything must have flowed 
from some apostolic injunction or concession—2.e. 
from above to below. He adduces, no doubt, the 
“weakness ” of the “ apostles ” in the second generation 
—which is quite a remarkable statement, based on 
the cessation of miraculous gifts." But it was in 
virtue of their own resolve that the apostles withdrew 


1 It seems inevitable that we should take Theodore as holding 
that the cessation of the miraculous power hitherto wielded by the 
apostles was a divine indication that they were now to efface 
themselves.—It was a widely-spread conviction (see Origen in 
several passages, which Theodore read with care) that the apostolic 
power of working miracles ceased at some particular moment in 
their history. The power of working miracles and the apostles’ 
power of working miracles are not, however, identical. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 71 


from the scene, distributing their power to other 
people; for only there could the local church’s 
authority originate! Such is his theory; it is ex- 
tremely ingenious, and dominated all over by the 
magical conception of the apostolate. The local 
ehurch-authority (or the monarchical and supreme 
episcopate) within the individual community owed 
its origin to the “apostolic” provincial authority, by 
means of a conveyance of power; and during the 
lifetime of the apostles it was quite in a dependent 
position. Even after their departure, the supreme 
episcopal authority did not forthwith come into being 
within each complete community. On the contrary, 
says Theodore, it was only two or three towns in every 
province, which at the outset possessed a bishop of 
their own (7.e. in the new sense of the term “ bishop ”). 
Not until a later date, and even then only by degrees, 
were other towns and even villages added to these 
original towns, while in the majority of provinces 
throughout the West the old state of matters 
prevailed, says Theodore, till quite recently. In 
some provinces it prevails at present.’ 

This theory about the origin of the local monar-; 
chical episcopate baffles any discussion.” We may 


1 Theodore seems to regard this original state of matters as 
the ideal. At any rate, he expresses displeasure at the village- 
episcopacy. 

2 All the more so, that Theodore never goes into the question of 
how the individual community was ruled at first (whether by some 
local council or by a single presbyter-bishop). He says nothing, 
either, of the way in which the monarchical principle was reached in 
the individual community. We seem shut up to the conjecture that 
in his view the individual communities were ruled by councils for 
several generations. 


72 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


say without any hesitation that Theodore had no 
authentic foundation for it whatsoever. Even when 
he might appear to be setting up at least the 
semblance of historic trustworthiness for his identi- 
fication of “ apostles” with ‘“ provincial bishops,” by 
his reference to Timothy, Titus, and John, the 
testimony breaks down entirely. We are compelled 
to ask, Who were these retiring apostles? What 
sources have we for our knowledge of their resigna- 
tion? How do we learn of this conveyance of 
authority which they are declared to have under- 
taken? ‘These questions, we may say quite plainly, 
Theodore ought to have felt in duty bound to answer ; 
for in what sources can we read anything of the 
matter? It was not without reason that Theodore 
veiled even the exact time at which this great renun- 
ciation took effect. We can only suppose that it was 
conceived to have occurred about the year 100 a.D." 
At the same time there is no reason to cast aside 
the statements of Theodore zn toto. They start a 
whole set of questions on which historians have not 
as yet bestowed a due meed of attention, questions 
relating to the position of bishops in the local church, 
territorial or provincial bishops (if such there were), 
and metropolitans. ‘To put the problem more 
exactly: Were there territorial (or provincial) bishops 
in the primitive period? And was the territorial 
1 Theodore adduces one “proof,” solely for his assertion that 
originally there were only two or three bishoprics in every province. 
He refers to the situation in the West, as this had existed up till 
recently, and as it still existed in some quarters. But the 
question here is whether he has correctly understood the cireum- 


stances of the case, and whether these circumstances can really be 
linked on to what is alleged to have taken place about the year 100. 


‘ ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 73 


bishop perhaps even older than the bishop of the 
local church? Furthermore, did the two disparate 
systems of organization denoted by these titles happen 
to rise simultaneously, coming to terms with each 
other only at a later period? Finally, was the 
metropolitan office, which is not visible till the second 
half of the second century, originally an older 
creation? Can it have been merely the sequel of 
an earlier monarchical office, which obtained in the 
ecclesiastical provinces? These questions are of 
vital moment to the history of the extension of 
Christianity, and in fact to the statistics of primitive 
Christianity : for, supposing that it was the custom 
in many provinces to be content with one or two or 
three bishoprics for several generations, it would be 
impossible to conclude from the small number of 
bishoprics in certain provinces that Christianity was 
only scantily represented in these districts. The 
investigation of this question is all the more pressing, _ 
inasmuch as Duchesne has recently (astes épiscopaux 
de lancienne Gaule, i., 1894, pp. 36 f.) gone into it, 
referring—although with caution—to the statements 
of Theodore, and deducing far-reaching conclusions 
with regard to the organization of the churches in 
Gaul. We shall require in the first instance to make 
ourselves familiar with his propositions* (pp. 1-59). 
I give the main conclusion in his own words. 

P. 32: “Dans les pays situés 4 quelque distance de 


' Duchesne, be it observed, only draws these conclusions for Gaul, 
nor has he yet said his last word upon the other provinces. I have 
reason to believe that his verdict and my own are not very different ; 
hence in what follows I am attacking, not himself, but conclusions 
which may be drawn from his statements. 


74 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


la Mediterranée et de la basse vallée du Rhéne, il ne 
sest fondé aucune église (Lyon exceptée) avant le 
milieu du II[* siécle environ.” 

Pp. 38 f.: “Il en resulte que, dans l’ancienne Gaule 
zeltique, avec ses grandes subdivisions en Belgique, 
Lyonnaise, Aquitaine et Germanie, une seule église 
existait au II° siécle, celle de Lyon . . . . ce que nos 
documents nous apprennent, c’est que l’église de Lyon 
était, en dehors de la Narbonnaise, non la premiere, 
mais la seule. ows les chrétiens épars depuis le Rhin 
jusqu aux Pyrénées’ ne formaient qwune seule com- 
munauté ; ils reconnaissaient un chef unique, Cévéque 
de Lyon.” 

P. 59: “ Avant la fin du ITI° siécle—sauf toujours 
la région du bas Rhone et de la Méditerranée—peu 
d’évéchés en Gaule et cela seulement dans les villes les 
plus importantes. A Jorigine, au premier siécle 
chrétien pour votre pays (150-250), une seule église, 
celle de Lyon, réunissant dans un méme cercle 
d'action et de direction tous les groupes chrétiens 
épars dans les diverses provinces de la Celtique.” 

Duchesne reaches this conclusion in virtue of the 
following observations :— 

1. No reliable evidence for a single Gallic bishopric, 
apart from that of Lyons, goes back beyond the middle 
of the third century.” Nor do the episcopal lists, so 
far as they fall to be considered at all in this connec- 


1 From the mention of the Pyrenees it is obvious that Duchesne 
includes Aquitania and the extreme S.W. of France in the province 
of which Lyons is said to have formed the only bishopric. 

* Arles alone was certainly in existence before 250 a.p., as the 
correspondence of Cyprian proves. But Arles lay in the province 
Narbonensis, which is excluded from the purview now before us. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 1% 


tion, take us any further back. Verus of Vienna, e.g., 
who was present at the council of Arles in 314 a.p., 
is counted as the fourth bishop in these lists ; which 
implies that the bishopric of Vienna could hardly have 
been founded before + 250 a.p. 

2. The heading of the well-known epistle from 
Vienna and Lyons (Kus., H.2., v. 1) runs thus: o¢ év 
Brévyy Kau Aouydovvw ths TadXias TO,OLKOUYTES dovAot X pir tov 
(“the servants of Christ sojourning at Vienna and 
Lyons”). This heading resembles others, such as 7 
exkAyola TOU Oeou 7 Tapolkoug a ‘Pouny, or Kopuoyr, Dirir7rovs, 
=pipvay, ete. ( * the church of God sojourning at Rome, 
Corinth, Philippi, Smyrna,” etc), and consequently 
represents both churches as a unity—at least upon that 
reading of the words which first suggests itself.* 

3. In this epistle “Sanctus, deacon from Vienna,” 
is mentioned—a phrase which would hardly be 
intelligible if it alluded to one of the deacons of 
the bishop of Vienna, but which is perfectly natural 
if Sanctus was the deacon who managed the inchoate 
church of Vienna, as a delegate of the Lyons bishop. 
In that event Vienna had no bishop of its own. 

4. Irenzus in his great work speaks of churches in 
Germany and also among the Iberians, the Celts, and 
the Libyans. Now it is a well-established fact that 
there were no organized churches, when he wrote, 
in Germany (z.e. in the military province, for free 
Germany is not in question). When Irenzus speaks 


1 Certainly this argument is advanced with some cireumspection 
(p. 40): Cette formule semble plutot désigner un groupe ecclési- 
astique que deux groupes ayant chacun son organization distincte: 
en tout cas, elle n’offre rien de contraire a ]’indistinction des deux 
églises. 


76 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


of churches, he must therefore mean churches which 
were not episcopal churches.’ 

5. Theodore testifies that till quite recently 
there had been only two or three bishops in the 
majority of the Western provinces, and that this 
state of matters still lasted in one or two of them. 
Now, as a large number of bishoprics can be shown 
to have existed in southern and middle Italy, as well 
as in Africa, we are thrown back upon the other 
countries of the West. Strictly speaking, it is true, 
Theodore’s evidence only covers his own period, but 
it fits m admirably with our first four arguments, 
and is in itself quite natural, that bishoprics were 
not more numerous in the earlier than in the later 
period. 

6. Eusebius mentions a letter from “ the parishes 
in Gaul over which Ireneus presided” (trav xara 
TadXav TapolKov us Evpnvaios erecxomel, H.E., v. 28). 
Now although zapouia usually means the diocese of 
a bishop, in which sense Eusebius actually employs it 
in this very chapter, we must nevertheless attach 
another meaning to it here. ‘Le verbe émoxoreiy ne 
saurait s’entendre d’une simple présidence comme 
serait celle d’un métropolitain a la téte de son concile. 
Cette derniére situation est visée dans le méme 
passage d’Eusebe; en parlant de l’évéque Théophile, 
qui présida celui du Pont, il se sert de l’expression 
TPOUTETAKTO, In the present instance, then, Tapoictat 
denote “groupes détachés, dispersés, dune méme 
grande église ”—‘ plusieurs groupes de chrétiens, 


1 It is in this way, I believe, that Duchesne’s train of argument 
must be read (pp. 40 f.). But its trend is not quite clear to my 
mind, 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE ‘177 


épars sur divers points du territoire, un seul centre 
ecclésiastique, un seul évéque, celui de Lyon.” 

7. Analogous phenomena (?.e. the existence of but 
one bishop at first and for some time to come) occur 
also in other large provinces, but the proof of this 
would lead us too far afield. Duchesne contents 
himself with adducing a single instance which is 
especially decisive. The anonymous anti-Montanist 
who wrote in 192-193 a.p. (Kus., H.., v. 16), 
relates how on reaching Ancyra in Galatia he 
found the Pontie church (tiv cata L[lovroy exkAno lay) 
crammed and confused with the new prophecy. Now 
Ancyra does not lie in Pontus, and—*“ ce n’est pas 
des nouvelles del’église du Pont qu'il a eues a Ancyre, 
cest [église elle-méme, Téglse du Pont, qwil y a 
rencontrée.’ Hence it follows in all likelihood’ that 
the church of Pontus had still its “chef-lleu” in 
Ancyra during the reign of Septimius Severus (c. 200 
ADE). 

8. The extreme slowness with which bishoprics 
increased in Gaul is further corroborated by the 
council of Arles (314 a.p.), at which four provinces 


1 P. 42: ‘*D’autres églises que celle de Lyon ont eu d’abord un 
cercle de rayonnement trés étendu et ne se sont en quelque sorte 
subdivisées qu’aprés une indivision d’assez longue durée. Je ne 
veux pas entrer ici dans l’histoire de ]’évangélization de l’empire 
romain: cela m’entrainerait beaucoup trop loin. Il me serait 
facile de trouver en Syrie, en Egypte et ailleurs des termes de 
comparaison assez intéressants. Je les néglige pour me borner 4 un 
seul exemple,” ete. 

2 Duchesne also refers to the notices about Christians in Pontus, 
which we find in Gregory Thaumaturgus. 

8 This is the period, therefore, in which Duchesne places the 
anonymous anti-Montanist. In my opinion, he puts him rather too 
late. 


78 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


(la Germaine I., la Séquanaise, les Alpes Grées 
et Pennines, les Alpes Maritimes) were .unrepre- 
sented. One may assume from this that as yet 
they contained no autonomous churches what- 
soever.’ 

Before examining these arguments in favour of the 
hypothesis that episcopal churches were in existence, » 
which had extended over wide regions and a number 
of cities, and in fact over several provinces together, 
I should like to add a further series of observations 
which appear also to tell in favour of it. 

(1) Paul writes.... TH exkAnola tou Oeov TH oven 
ev Kopi cu Tos aylos TaTW Tos ovow ev Ody TH Ayata 
(2-Cor;.1:1), 

(2) In the Ignatian epistles (c. 115 a.p.) not only 
is Antioch called 4 év Lupia éxkAyoia (“the church in 
Syria,” Rom. ix., Magn. xiv., Tall. xii.) absolutely, 
but Ignatius even describes himself as “the bishop of 
Syria” (6 éricxoros Zupias, Rom. i.). 

(3) Dionysius of Corinth writes a letter “to the 
church sojourning at Gortyna, with the rest of the 
churches in Crete, commending Philip thez bishop ” 


Ce) , lal , 1D. , vo a ct \ 
(77 exKAYo LA TH TAPOlKOUTH opTuvay aUa Tals Aoirrais KaTa 


1 A counter-argument is noticed by Duchesne. In Cypr., ep. 
Ixviii., we are told that Faustinus, the bishop of Lyons, wrote to 
Stephen the pope (c. 254 a.p.), not only in his own name but in 
that of “the rest of my fellow-bishops who hold office in the same 
province ” (“ ceteri coepiscopi nostri in eadem provincia constituti”’). 
Duchesne admits that the earliest of the bishoprics (next to that 
of Lyons) may have been already in existence throughout the 
provincia Lugdunensis, but he considers that it is more natural — 
to think of bishops on the lower Rhone and on the Mediterranean, 
i.e. in the provincia Narbonensis, which had had bishops for a 
long while. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE ‘179 


Kpyryy, Pdurrov ericxoroy aitay amodexouevos,—Kus., 
H.E., iv. 23. 5). 

(4) The same author (op. cit., iv. 28. 6) writes 
a letter “to the church sojourning in Amastris, 
together with those in Pontus, in which he alludes 
to Bacchylides and Elpistus as having incited him 
to write... . and mentions their bishop Palmas 
by name” (t7 éxxAyoia TH Tapoovon “Auartpiy dua Tais 
cata Ilovror, Baxyurwdov pev kat “KXricrov woay avroy én 
TO ypanra ™ pot peryavTwy [LEN LEVOS He er PAL ae €TLTKO TOV auTOY 
dvonate Lada UTOTHLALVOY), 

(5) In Eus., H.L,, iii. 4. 6, we read that “Timothy 
is stated indeed to have been the first to obtain the 
episcopate of the parish in Ephesus, just as Titus did 
over the churches in Crete” (Twuwobeds ye pny tis év 
"Edéow Tapotkias (oTOpEiTaL TPWTOS THY eTLTKOTHY etAnxevat, 
ws kat Tiros tov em K pyrns exKANTLOY ), 

(6) “In the name of the brethren in Gaul over 
whom he presided, Irenzus sent dispatches,” ete. 
(6 Ezpnvaios eK T poo w7rov ov ryetTo kata tTyv LT'adXay 
adekpay émorethas, Kus., H.E., v. 24. 11); ep. vi. 46: 
Atowews tois kara ’Apueviay adeAois émixtédXet, Gy érrec- 
xomeve MepouvCavys (* Dionysius dispatched a letter to 
the brethren in Armenia over whom Merozanes pre- 
sided ”). 

(7) “Demetrius had just then obtained the epis- 
copate over the parishes in Egypt, in succession to 
Julian” (Tov de ev Atyirro TA. POLK OV THY eTLTKOT HY vEewrrl 
TOTE mera ’TovAravou Anya pros vTeAnpe.—Hus., TA HES 
iis 2-2). 

(8) “ Xystus . . .. was over the church of Rome, 
Demetrianus . . . . over that of Antioch, Firmilianus 
over Ceesarea in Cappadocia, and besides these Gregory 


80 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


and his brother Athenodorus over the churches in 
Pontus” (ris pev “Pouaiwy éxxcryoias . . . . Rvortos, Tis 
oe er " Avrwoyxeias Aas Anpntpravos, Di ppsrravos dé Ka- 
capelas ths Kamradoxay, kat emt tovtos Tov cata Lodvrov 
EKKANTLOV DT pyyoptos Kal 0 TOUTOU adedcpos "A Onvodwpos,—— 
EKus., H.F., vii. 14). 

(9) “ Firmillanus was bishop of Czsarea in Cappa- 
docia, Gregory and his brother Athenodorus were 
pastors of the parishes in Pontus, and besides these 
Helenus of the parish in Tarsus, with Nicomas of 
Iconium,” ete. (Pippudeavos wev THY Kammadoxov Kaoapetas 
ETLTKOTOS HY, T'pnyoptos oe Kat A Oyvddwpos ade pot TOV KATO 
ILovroy rapoixiay roiméves, Kat emt Tovtows “EXevos Ths ev 
Tapow Tapo.ktas, Kat Nucouas THiS ev “Ikoviw, ete.—Eus., 
HAE., vii. 28). 

(10) “* Meletius, bishop of the churches in Pontus” 
(Medéru0s tov xara Ilovroy éxxAno.wy éricxo7os.—Kus., 
HE, vii. 32. 26). 

(11) * Basilides, bishop of the parishes in Penta- 
polis ” (Bacireidys 6 Kata Thy IleveavroAw TAPOtK@v eno - 
coos. —Huus., H.E., vil. 26. 8). 

(12) Signatures to council of Nica (ed. Gelzer et 
soci): ‘ Calabria—Marcus of Calabria; Dardania— 
Dacus of Macedonia; Thessaly — Claudianus of 
Thessaly and Cleonicus of Thebes; Pannonia— 
Domnus of Pannonia; Gothia — Theophilus of 
Gothia ; Bosporus—Cadmus of Bosporus (Kadafpias ° 
Mapxos K,—Aapdavias 7 Aakos Makedovias,—Ococanrlas £ 
KAavoiavos 9., KXeducos QnBev.—Larvovias > Aouvos I,— 
Tor@ias * Ocddiros I’.— Boozopou * Kaduos B.). 

(13) Apost. Constit., vil. 46: Kpyonns tov xara 
Tadariav éxxcAnowv, “AxidAas oé xat Nixjrns tov Kata 
"Aciay vapour (*Crescens over the churches in 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 8] 


Galatia, Aquila and Nicetes over the parishes in 
Asia”). 

(14) Sozomen (vii. 19) declares that the Scythians 
had only a single bishop, although their country 
contained many towns (cp. also Theodoret, H.E., 
iv. 31, where Bretanio is called the high priest of all 
the towns in Scythia). 

On 1. I note that Duchesne’s first argument is 
an argument from silence. Besides, it must be added 
that we have no writings in which any direct notice 
of the early Gothic bishoprics could be expected, so 
that the argument from silence hardly seems worthy 
of being taken into account in this connection. The 
one absolutely reliable piece of evidence (Cypr., ep. 
Ixvui.)’ for the history of the Gothic church, which 
reaches us from the middle of the third century, is 
certainly touched upon by Duchesne, but he has not 
done it full justice. This letter of Cyprian to the 
Roman bishop Stephen, which aims at persuading 
the latter to depose Marcian, the bishop of Arles, who 
held to Novatian’s ideas, opens with the words: 
“‘Faustinus, our colleague, residing at Lyons, has 
written to me repeatedly with information which I 
know you also have received both from him and 
also from the rest of our fellow-bishops established 
in the same province” (‘“ Faustinus collega noster 
Lugduni consistens semel adque iterum mihi scripsit 

1 Merely for the sake of completeness be it added that the 
Liber Preedestinatus mentions “ Diodorus epise. Cretensis” (xii.), 
“ Dioscurus Cretensis epise.” (xx.), “ Craton epise. Syrorum” (xxxiii.), 
“ Aphrodisius Hellesponti episc.” (xlvii.), “ Basilius epise. Cappa- 
dociae” (xlviii.), “Zeno Syrorum epise.” (I.), and “Theodotus 
Cyprius episce.” (lvi.). 

* See page 68. 

VoL. IL. 6 


82 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


significans ea quae etiam vobis scio utique nuntiata 
tam ab eo quam a ceteris coepiscopis nostris in eadem 
provincia constitutis”). It is extremely unlikely that 
by “‘eadem provincia” here we are meant to under- 
stand the provincia Narbonensis. For, in the first 
place, Lyons did not lie in that province ; in the second 
place, had the bishops of Narbonensis been themselves 
opponents of Marcian and desirous of getting rid of 
him, Cyprian’s letter would have been couched in 
different terms, and it would hardly have been 
necessary for the three great Western bishops of 
Lyons, Carthage, and Rome to have intervened ; 
thirdly, Cyprian writes in ch. ii. (‘‘ quapropter facere 
te oportet plenissimas litteras ad coepiscopos nostros 
in Gallia constitutos, ne ultra Marcianum pervicacem 
et superbum... . collegio nostro insultare patiantur ’) 
“Wherefore it behoves you to write at great length to 
our fellow-bishops established in Gaul, not to tolerate 
any longer the wanton and insolent insults heaped 
by Marcian .... upon our assembly”; and in ch. 
il. (“dirigantur in provinciam et ad plebem Arelate 
consistentem a te litterae quibus abstento Marciano 
alius in loco eius substituatur”): ‘ Let letters be sent 
by you to the province and to the people residing 
at «Arles, to remove Marcian, and put another 
person in his place.” Obviously, then, it is a question 
here of two (or three) letters, z.e. of one addressed 
to the bishops of Gaul, and of a second (or even a 
third) addressed not only to the “plebs Arelate con- 
sistens,” but also to the “ provincia” (which can only 
mean the provincia Narbonensis, in which Arles lay). 
It follows from this that the “coepiscopi nostri in 
Gallia constituti” (ii.) are hardly to be identified with 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 83 


the bishops of Narbonensis, which leads to the further 
conclusion that these ‘‘ coepiscopi” are the bishops of 
the provincia Lugdunensis—a conclusion which in 
itself appears to be the most natural and obvious 
explanation of the passage. The provincia Lugdu- 
nensis thus had several bishops in the days of Cyprian, 
who were already gathered into one synod,’ and corre- 
sponded with Rome. We cannot make out from this 
passage how old these bishoprics were, but it is at 
any rate unlikely that all of them had just been 
founded. In this connection Duchesne also refers to 
the fact that bishop Verus of Vienna, who was present 
at the council of Arles in 314, is counted in one 
ancient list as the fourth bishop of Vienna; which 
makes the origin of the local bishopric fall hardly 
earlier than + 250 a.p. But the list is not ancient. 
Besides, it is a questionable authority. Even grant- 
ing that it were reliable, it is quite arbitrary to 
assume a mean term of eighteen years as the duration 
of an individual episcopate; while, even supposing that 
such a calculation were accurate, it would simply 
follow that Vienna (although situated in the provincia 
Narbonensis, where even Duchesne admits that 
bishoprics had been founded in earlier days) did not 
receive her bishopric till later. No inference could 
be drawn from this regarding the town of Lyons. 

On 2. Duchesne holds that the heading of the 
letter (in Kus., H.E., v. 1: of év Buévyy cat Aovydovve rijs 
TadXlas raporxobytes dovAor Tod Xpistov) seems to describe 
the Christians of Vienna and Lyons as if they were 

1 For this must be the meaning of Cyprian’s phrase, “tam a 


Faustino quam a ceteris coepiscopis nostris in eadem provincia 
constitutis.” 


84 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


a single church. But if such were the case, one 
would expect Lyons to be put first, since it was 
Lyons and not Vienna which had a bishop. Besides, 
the letter does not speak of éccAyotae or éxxAyota but 
of dovAo. Xpirrov, just as the address of the letter 
mentions “the brethren in Asia and Phrygia” (oc 
kata Tv “Acta kat Ppvyiay adedpol) and not ‘churches ” 
at all. Hence nothing at all can be gathered from 
this passage regarding the organization of the local 
Christians. Though Vienna and Lyons belonged to 
different provinces, they lay very close together; and 
as the same calamity had befallen the Christians of 
both places, one can quite understand how they write 
a letter in common on that subject. 

On 3. “Their whole fury was aroused ex- 
ceedingly against Sanctus the deacon from Vienna” 
(evéoxyrbev 7 opyn TATA Elg Daykrov Tov) dvakovoy aro Brévyys), 
It is possible to take this, with Duchesne, as referring 
to a certain Sanctus who managed the inchoate 
church of Vienna, as a delegate of the Lyons bishop. 
But the explanation is far from certain. This sense 
of aré is unusual (though not intolerable),? and the 
words may quite well be rendered, ‘the deacon who 
came from Vienna” [se. the church of Lyons]? But 


1 So we must read the passage, although rov is omitted by AE* 
F> Nic. 

2 Cp. Eus., H.E., v. 19; AidAtos THovrduos “lovAtos ard AeBeXrod 
KoAwveias THS Opaxys ériocxoros (“ Aelius Publius Julius, bishop of 
Debeltum, a colony of Thrace”). The parallel, of course, is not 
decisive, as Julius was at a gathering in Phrygia when he penned 
these words. 

3 Cp. what immediately follows—“ against Attalus a native of 
Pergamum” (eis “ArraAov Ilepyapyvov 7O yever), and also § 49 
(Aré€~avdpos tis, Bpvé pev 7d yevos, iatpds S& Ti emuorypnv=a 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 85 


even supposing that Sanctus was described here as 
the deacon of Vienna, it seems to me hasty and 
precarious to infer, with Duchesne, that Vienna had 
only a single deacon and no bishop (not even a 
presbyter) at all. Surely this is to build too much 
upon the article before dcacovov, Of course, tt may be 
so; we shall come back to this passage later on. 
Meantime, suffice it to say that the explicit description 
of Pothinus in the letter as “entrusted with the 
bishopric of Lyons” (rHv dtakoviay THs emirKoTys THs ev 
Aovydovvw mremictevuevos), instead of as “ our bishop” or 
even “the bishop,” does not tell in favour of the 
hypothesis that Lyons alone, and not Vienna, had a 
bishop at that period. 

On 4. The passage from Iren., i. 10. 2 («at ovre ai 
ev Depmaviats (Opuméva éexkAyolat d\Aws TeTITTEVKaTW 7 aANWS 
Tapadwoact, ouTe €v Tails "TBxpiacs, ovte ev KeXrois, ovTe kata 
Tas avaroNas OUTE ev Alyurto, OUTE év AcBun ouUTE at KATO. 
pera Tov Kocnov idpuuevac = Nor did the churches planted 
in Germany hold any different faith or tradition, any 
more than do those in Iberia or in Gaul or in the 
Kast or in Egypt or in Libya or in the central region 
of the world) remains neutral when read by the 
light of a very sceptical exposition. ‘The language 
affords no clue to the way in which the churches in 
Germany and among the Celts were organized. But 
the most obvious interpretation is that these 
“churches” were just as entire and complete in 


certain Alexander, of Phrygian extraction, and a physician by 
profession). Neumann, in his Rém. Staat und die allgem. Kirche, i. 
(1890), p. 30, writes thus: “‘As Sanctus, the deacon of Vienna, 
appears before the tribunal of the legate of Lyons, he was arrested 
in Lyons.” 


86 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


themselves as the churches of the East, of Egypt, of 
Libya, and of all Europe, which are mentioned with 
them on the same level. At any rate nothing can be 
inferred from this passage in support of Duchesne’s 
opinion. It is a pure “petitio principii” to hold 
that complete churches could not have existed in 
Germany. 

On 5. No weight attaches to Theodore’s evidence 
regarding the primitive age. Yet even he pre- 
supposes that after the exit of the “apostles” 
(=provincial bishops) each separate province had 
two or three bishops of its own, while Duchesne 
would prove that the three Gauls had merely one 
bishop between them for about a hundred years. 

On 6. At first sight, this argument seems to be 
particularly decisive, but on a closer examination it 
proves untenable, and in fact turns round in oe 
an opposite direction. ‘The expression Tov cata . . . 
érerkore: cannot, we are told, be understood to mean 
episcopal dioceses over which Irenzus presided as 
metropolitan, but simply denotes scattered groups of 
Christians (though in the immediate context 7 rapoudca 
does mean an episcopal diocese), as émicxo7eiv need only 
imply direct episcopal functions. Yet in H.L., vii. 
26. 3, Eusebius describes Basilides as 6 kata tyy 
IlevraroAw rapouiey éricxoros (see (11)), and Meletius 
(H.E., vii. 32, 26; ep. (10)) as tev cara [ldvrov éxcAyovev 
éricxo7ros, and it is quite certain—even on the testimony 
of Eusebius himself—that there were several bishoprics 
at that period in Pentapolis and Pontus.’ ’Ezicxozos 
rapoxav, therefore, denotes in this connection the position 

1 In this very chapter Eusebius mentions the bishopric of 
Berenicé in Pentapolis. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 87 


of metropolitan,’ and it is in this sense that zaporkias 
emtoxorreiyv Must also be understood with reference to 
Irenzeus. The latter, Eusebius meant, was metro- 
politan of the episcopal dioceses in Gaul. So far from 
proving, then, that about 100 a.p. there was only 
one bishop in Gaul, our passage is evidence for the 
existence of several bishops.” 

On 7. This argument is quite untenable. The 
church of Pontus, we are told, had its episcopal 
headquarters in the Galatian Ancyra about 200 a.p. ! 
But about 190 a.p. it already had a metropolitan of 
its own, for Kusebius mentions a writing sent during 
the Paschal controversy by “the bishops in Pontus 
over whom Palmas, as their senior, presided ” (ry cara 
Ilovroy émicxorwy, dv Iladpas ws apyadrtatos tpovTérakTo, 
H.E., v. 23). How Duchesne could overlook this 
passage is all the more surprising, inasmuch as a 
little above he quotes from this very chapter. 
Besides, this Palmas, as we may learn from Dionysius 
of Corinth (in Eus., H.E., iv. 23. 6; see below, p. 89), 
stayed not in Ancyra, perhaps, but in Amastris. 


1 On Eus., H.E., vi. 2. 2, see below (p. 90). 

2 Thus the expression used by Eusebius in H.E., v. 24. 11 (6 
Hipnvaios é€x mpoowrov av yyeiro Kata tTHv TadAdiav adeApav emioreidas 
—cp. (6)) is also to be understood as a reference to the metropolitan 
rank of Irenzus, since it is employed as a simple equivalent for the 
above expression in v. 23. Probst (Kirchliche Disziplin in den drei 
ersten christlichen Jahrhunderten, p. 97) and some other scholars even 
go the length of including Gallic bishops among the ddeAdoi, ‘an 
interpretation which is not necessary, although it is possible, 
and rests on one strong piece of evidence in the “parishes” of 
v. 23.—The outcome of both passages relating to Irenzeus and Gaul 
is that it is impossible to ascertain whether the Meruzanes mentioned 
in H.E. vi. 46 as the bishop of the Armenian brethren was the sole 
local bishop at that period or the metropolitan, See on (6). 


88 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Furthermore, in the passage in question té7ov (AE?) 
must be read’ instead of Ilovrov, despite the Syriac 
version. IIcevroy is meaningless here, even if the 
territorial bishop of Pontus resided at that time in 
Ancyra. Thus it is not in Pontus, but in Phrygia 
and Gaul, that we hear of Montanist agitations, and, 
moreover, one could not possibly have got acquainted 
with the church of Pontus in Ancyra, even if the 
latter place had been the residence of that church’s 
head. Can one get acquainted in Alexandria nowa- 
days with the church of Abyssinia ¢ 

On 8. Duchesne’s final argument proves nothing, 
because it is uncertain whether the four recent pro- 
vinces mentioned here had still no bishops by 314 
A.D. Nothing can be based on the fact that they 
were not represented at Arles, for the representation. 
of churches at the great synods always was an 
extremely haphazard affair. But even supposing 
that these provinces were still without bishops of 
their own, this proves nothing with regard to Lyons. 

I have added to Duchesne’s reasons fourteen other 
passages which appear to favour his hypothesis. Three 
of these (6), (10), (11) have been already noticed under 
6., and our conclusion was that they were silent 
upon provincial bishops, being concerned rather with 
metropolitans. It remains for us to review briefly 
the other eleven. - 

‘We must not infer from 2 Cor. i. 1 that, when 

1 [Tpoodarus yevopevos ev Aykipa ths Tadarias cat xatadaBov tiv 
Kata. Torov (not Idvrov) éxxAnoiav tro THs véas Ta’Tns . .. . Wevdo- 
mpopytetas SuateOpvAnpevyy (“When I was recently at Ancyra in 


Galatia, I found the local church quite upset by this novel form 


. of false prophecy”’). Kara Ilévrov is in one other passage 
of Eusebius a mistake for xara ravra térov (iv. 15. 2). 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 8:9 


Paul wrote this epistle, all the Christians of Achaia 
belonged to the church of Corinth. In Rom. xvi. 
1 f. Paul mentions a certain Phoebé, dcaxovos ris éxxAynoias 
Tis ev Keyxpeais, speaking highly of her as having been 
a Tporraric moA\A@v Kal éuov avtov, so that, while many 
Christians scattered throughout Achaia may have also 
belonged to the church at Corinth at that period, there 
was nevertheless a church at Cenchrez besides, which 
we have no reason to suppose was not independent. 

Ignatius’s description of himself as “bishop of 
Syria,” and his description of the church of Antioch 
as 7 év Zupia exkAynoia, appear to prove decisively that 
there was only one bishop then in Syria, viz., at 
Antioch (2). Yet in ad Phil. x. we read how 
some of the neighbouring churches sent bishops, 
others presbyters and deacons, to Antioch (as kai aé 
eyyirra exkAnolat émreurlav ETLTKOTTOUS, al OE m pea PuTépous 
kat diaxdvous), Which shows that there were bishoprics? 
in Syria, and indeed in the immediate vicinity of 
Antioch, c. 115 a.p. The bishop of Antioch called 
himself “bishop of Syria” on account of his metro- 
politan position. 

From Eus., H.., iv. 23. 5—6, it would appear that 
there was only a single bishop (3), (4), in Crete and in 
Pontus c. 170 a.p., inasmuch as Dionysius of Corinth 
designates Philip as bishop of Gortyna and the rest of 
the churches in Crete, and Palmas bishop of Amastris 


1 Some of the bishoprics adjoining Antioch, of which Eusebius 
speaks in H.E. vii. 30. 10 (érickoro: tév dyopwv aypav Te Kal ToAewv), 
were therefore in existence by c. 115 a.p.—It seems to me impos- 
Sible that Philadelphia is referred to in the expression ai éyyiora 
éxkAnoiat in Phil. x. (“the nearest churches’). Even Lightfoot 
refers it to Syria. To be quite accurate he ought to have said, “to 
the church in Antioch,” as that church is mentioned just above. 


90 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


and the churches of Pontus. But whether the expres- 
sion be attributed to Dionysius himself, or ascribed, as 
is more likely, to Eusebius, the fact remains that the 
same collection of the letters of Dionysius contained 
one to the church of Cnossus in Crete, or to its bishop 
Pinytus (loc. cit., §'7), while, as we have already seen 
(on 7), Palmas was not the sole bishop in Pontus. 
Philip and Palmas were therefore not provincial 
bishops but metropolitans, with other bishops at 
their side. 

The statement of Eusebius (5) that Titus was 
bishop of the Cretan churches is an erroneous infer- 
ence from Titus i. 5, and destitute of historical value. 

According to the habitual terminology of Kusebius 
(7), Tov de ev Aiyirrw TOPOLKLOV THY emiakomny TOTE A nLN- 
Tpios vretAnper describes Demetrius as a metropolitan, 
not as a provincial bishop (see above, on (6)). Other 
evidence, discussed by Lightfoot (in his Commentary 
on Philippians, 3d ed., pp. 228 f.) would seem to 
render it probable that Demetrius was really the 
only bishop (in the monarchical sense) in Egypt in 
188-189 a.p.; but this fact is no proof whatever that 
the Alexandrian bishop was a “ provincial” bishop, 
for it does not preclude the possibility that, while 
Demetrius was the first monarchical bishop in 
Alexandria itself, Egypt in general did not con- 
tain any churches up till then except those which 
were superintended by presbyters or deacons. The 
whole circumstances of the situation are of course 
extremely obscure. Nevertheless it does look as if 
Demetrius and his successor Heraclas were the first 
bishops (in the proper sense of the term), and as if — 
they ordained similar bishops (Demetrius ordained 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 91 


three, and Heraclas twenty) for Egypt. It is 
perfectly possible, no doubt, but at the same time 
it is incapable of proof, that the Egyptian churches 
occupied a position of dependence on the Alexandrian 
church, at a time when Alexandria itself had as yet 
no bishop of its own. 

In both of the passages (8) and (9) where Gregory 
and Athenodorus are described as bishops of the 
Pontic church, the dual number shows that we have 
to do neither with provincial nor with metropolitan 
bishops. Eusebius is expressing himself vaguely, 
perhaps because he did not know the bishoprics of 
the two men. 

In Kus., H.EF., viii. 18, 4-5, two bishops who 
happen to bear the same name (“Silvanus”) are 
described as bishops of the churches “round Emesa,” 
or “round Gaza” (12). There can be no word of 
provincial bishops here, however, as we know that 
these districts contained a large number of bishoprics. 
The position of matters can be understood from the 
history of Emesa and Gaza, both of which remained 
for long pagan towns, as we are aware; they would 
not tolerate a Christian bishop. Bishops, therefore, 
were unable to reside in either place. But as 
the groups of Christian villages in the vicinity had 
bishops for themselves (so essential did the episcopal 
organization seem to Eastern Christians), there were 
probably bishops zn partibus infidelium for Emesa 
and Gaza, although otherwise they were territorial 
bishops, over quite a limited range of territory. 

As regards provincial bishops, it seems possible to 
cite the signatures to the council of Nicza (13), viz., 
the five instances in which the name of the province 


92 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


accompanies that of the bishop. These are Calabria, 
Thessaly, Pannonia, Gothia, and the Bosphorus.’ 
But in the case of Thessaly, bishop Claudianus of 
Thessaly is accompanied by bishop Cleonicus of 
Thebes, so that the former was not a provincial 
bishop but a metropolitan. Besides, it is quite certain 
that Calabria and Pannonia had more than one 
bishop in 325 a.p., although only the metropolitans 
of these provinces were present at Nicaea (as indeed 
was also the case with Africa, whose metropolitan 
alone was in attendance). Thus only Gothia and 
the Bosphorus are left. But as these lay outside 
the Roman empire, and as quite a unique set of 
conditions prevailed throughout these regions, the 
local situation there cannot form any standard for 
estimating the organization of churches inside the 
empire. The bishops above mentioned may have 
been the only bishops there. 

No value whatever attaches to the statements of the 
Apost. Constit. (14) and of the Liber Predestinatus. 
The former are based, so far as regards the first half 
of them, upon an arbitrary deduction from 2 Tim. | 
iv. 10, while their second half is utterly futile, since 
several Asiatic city bishoprics are mentioned in the 
context. The latter statement is a description of 
metropolitans (t.e. so far as any idea whatever can be 
ascribed to the forger), as is proved abundantly by 
the entry, ‘‘ Basilius, bishop of Cappadocia.” Finally, 
the communication of Sozomen (15), which he him- 
self describes as a curiosity, refers to a barbarian 
country. 


1 The signature Aapdavias* Adxos Maxedovias is obscure, and must 
therefore be set aside. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 93 


The result is, therefore, that the alleged evidence for 
the hypothesis of provincial bishops instead of local 
(city) bishops and metropoktans throughout the empire, 
furnishes no proof at all. Out of all the material 
which we have examined, nothing is left to favour 
this conjecture. The sole outcome of it is the un- 
important possibility that in 178 a.p. (and even till 
about the middle of third century), Vienna had no 
independent bishop of its own. Even this conjecture, 
as has been shown, is far from necessary, while it is 
opposed by the definite testimony of Eusebius, who 
knew of a letter from the parishes of Gaul c. 190 
A.D. And even supposing it were to the point, we 


‘If there were several (episcopal) parishes in Gaul c. 190 a.p., 
Vienna would also form one such parish. The hypothesis that a 
number of bishoprics existed in middle and northern Gaul in the 
days of Irenzeus is confirmed by the fact that Irenzeus (in a passage 
i. 10, to which I shall return) speaks, not of Christians in Germany, 
but of “the churches founded in Germany.” Would he have spoken of 
them if these churches had not had any bishops? While if they 
did possess bishops of their own—and according to iii. 3. 1, the 
episcopal succession reaching back to the apostles could be traced 
in every individual church,—then how should there have been still 
no bishops in middle and northern Gaul ? 

The passage iii. 3. 1 runs thus: “ Traditionem apostolorum in 
toto mundo manifestatam, in omni ecclesia adest perspicere omnibus 
qui vera velint videre, et habemus annumerare eos qui ab apostolis 
instituti sunt episcopi in ecclesiis et successiones eorum usque ad 
nos. . . . Sed quoniam valde longum est, in hoc tali volumine 
omnium ecclesiarum enumerare successiones,” etc. (‘All who desire 
to see facts can clearly see the tradition of the apostles, which is 
manifested all over the world, in every church; and we are able to 
enumerate those whom the apostles appointed as bishops in the 
churches, as well as to recount their line of succession down to our 
own day. . . . Since, however, in a volume of this kind it would 
take up great space to enumerate the various lines of succession 
throughout all the churches,” etc.). 


94 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


should have to suppose that the Christians in Vienna 
were numbered, not by hundreds, but merely by dozens, 
about the year 178, z.e. some decades later still. 


It is certain (cp. pp. 54 f.) that an internal tension 
prevailed between two forms of organization during 
the first two generations of the Christian propaganda. 
These forms were (1) the church as a missionary 
church, created by a missionary or apostle, whose 
work it remained; and (2) the church as a local 
church, complete in itself, forming thus an image and 
expression of the church in heaven. As the creation 
of an apostolic missionary, the church was responsible 
to its founder, dependent upon him, and obliged to 
maintain the principles which he followed everywhere 
in the course of his activity as a founder of various 
churches. As a compact local church, again, 1t was 
responsible for itself, with no one over it save the 
Lord in heaven. Through the person of its earthly 
founder, it stood in a real relationship to the other 
churches which he had founded. But as a local 
church it stood by itself, and any connection with 
other churches was quite a voluntary matter. 

That the founders themselves desired the churches 
to be independent, is perfectly clear in the case of 
Paul, nor have we any reason to believe that other 
founders of churches took another view (ep. the 
Roman church). No doubt they still continued to 
give pedagogic counsels to the churches, and in fact 
to act as guardians to them. But this was exceptional ; 
it was not the rule. The Spirit moved them to 
such action, and their apostolic authority justified 
them in it, while the unfinished state of the communi- 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 95 


ties seemed to demand it.' And in the primitive 
decision upon the length of time that an apostle was 
to remain in a community, as in similar cases, the 
communities secured, zpso facto, a means of self- 
protection within their own jurisdiction. Probably 
the completed organization of the Jerusalem church 
became, mutatis mutandis, a pattern for all and sundry : 
Christian communities were not “churches of Paul” 
or “of Peter” (éxcAyoria HavAov, Hétpov), but each was 
a “church of God” (exkAnota Tov GQeov), 

The third epistle of John affords one certain proof 
that conflict was not awanting between the community 
and its local management upon the one hand and the 
“apostles” on the other. This same John (or, in the 
view of many critics, a different person) does not 
impart his counsels to the Asiatic communities directly. 
He makes the “ Spirit” utter them. He proclaims, not 
his own coming with a view to punish them, but the 
coming of the Lord as their judge. But we need not 
enter more particularly into these circumstances and 
conditions. The point is that the apostolic authority 
soon faded; nor was it transmuted as a whole, for 
all that passed over to the monarchical episcopate 
was but a limited portion of its contents. 

The apostolic authority and praxis afforded a 
certain means of uniting several communities in a 
single group. When it vanished, the association 
also simply ceased to be. But another kind of tie 
was now furnished to the communities of a single 


1 What they did, the churches also did themselves in certain 
circumstances. Thus the Roman church exhorted, and in fact 
acted as guardian to, the Corinthian church in one sore crisis 


(c. 96 a.p.). 


96 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


province by their provincial association, and proofs 
of this are given by the Pauline epistles and the 
Apocalypse of John. The Epistle to the Galatians, 
addressed to all the Christian communities of Galatia, 
falls to be considered in this aspect, and much more 
besides. Paul’s range of missionary activity was 
regulated by the provinces; Asia, Macedonia, Achaia, 
etc., were ever in his mind’s eye. He prosecutes 
the great work of his collection by massing together 
the communities of a single province, and the so- 
called epistle “to the Ephesians” is addressed, as 
many scholars opine, to a large number of the 
Asiatic communities. John writes to the churches 
of Asia." Even at an earlier period a letter had been 
sent (Acts xv.) from Jerusalem to the churches of 
Syria and Cilicia.2, The communities of Judza were 
so closely bound up with that of Jerusalem, as to give 
rise to the hypothesis (Zahn, Lorschungen, vi. p. 300) 
that the ancient episcopal list of Jerusalem, which 
contains a surprising number of names, is a conflate 
list of the Jerusalem bishops and of those from the 
other Christian communities in Palestine. Between 
the apostolic age and c. 180 a.p., when we first get 
evidence of provincial church synods, similar proofs 
of union among the provincial churches are not 
infrequent. Ignatius is concerned, not only for the 
church of Antioch, but for that of Syria; Dionysius of 
Corinth writes to the communities of Crete and to 

1 By addressing himself also to the church at Laodicea, he passes 
on into the neighbouring district of Phrygia. But the other six 
churches are all Asiatic. 

* The collocation of Christians from several large provinces in 


1 Peter is remarkable. But as the address of this letter has been 
possibly drawn up artificially, I do not take it here into account. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 97 


those in Pontus; the brethren of Lyons write to those 
in Asia and Phrygia; the Egyptian communities 
form a sphere complete in itself, and the churches 
of Asia present themselves to more than Irenzus as 
a unity. 

Not in all cases did a definite town, such as the 
capital, become the headquarters which dominated 
the ecclesiastical province. No doubt Jerusalem 
(while it lasted), Antioch,’ Corinth,” Rome, Carthage, 
and Alexandria formed not merely the centres of their 
respective provinces, but in part extended their sway 
still more widely, both in virtue of their importance 
as large cities, and also on account of the energetic 
Christianity which they displayed. Yet Ephesus, 
for example, did not become for a long while the 
ecclesiastical metropolis of Asia in the full sense of 
the term; Smyrna and other cities competed with it 
for this honour.* In Palestine, Aelia (Jerusalem) and 
Czsarea stood side by side. Certain provinces, like 


1 Cp. the very significant address in Acts xv. 23: ot drdcroXo Kal 
ot mpeaBitepor adeAPoi Tots Kata Tiv “AvTidxevav Kal Zupiav Kat KiArKkiay 
adeAgpois. It matters not, for our present purpose, whether the 
letter is genuine or not. 

“ According to the extract from the correspondence of Dionysius 
of Corinth, given by Eusebius (H.E., IV. xxiii.), the bishop of 
Corinth seems to have stood in a different relation to the churches 
of Lacedemon and Athens from that in which he stood towards 
communities lying outside Greece. 

3 This requires no proof, as regards Rome. But the church of 
Jerusalem also pushed far beyond Palestine; it gave Paul much 
trouble in the Diaspora, and tried even to balk his plans. The 
bishop of Antioch, again, reached out to Cilicia, Mesopotamia, and 
Persia; the bishop of Carthage to Mauretania; the bishop of 
Alexandria to Pentapolis. 

4 All this was connected, of course, with the political organiza- 
tion of Asia. 


7 


98 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Galatia and extensive districts of Cappadocia, had no 
outstanding towns at all, and when we are told that 
in the provinces of Pontus, Numidia, and Spain, the 
oldest bishop always presided at the episcopal 
meetings, the inference is that no single city could 
have enjoyed a position of superiority to the others 
from the ecclesiastical standpoint. 

But the question now arises, whether the ‘‘ metro- 
politans,” who had been long in existence before they 
were recognized by the law of the church or attained 
their rights and authority, in any way repressed the 
tendency towards the increase of independent 
communities within a province ; and further, whether, 
in the interests of their own power, the bishops also 
made any attempt to retard the organization of 
new independent communities under episcopal govern- 
ment. In itself such a course of action would not 
be surprising. For wherever authority and rights 
develop, ambition and the love of power invariably 
are unchained. 

In order to solve the problem thus set before us, 
we have first of all to remark that the tendency 
of early Christianity to form complete, independent 
communities, wnder episcopal government, was 
extremely strong.’ Hurthermore, I do not know of 


1 As Ignatius cannot conceive of a community existing at all 
without a bishop, so Cyprian also opines that a bishop is absolutely 
necessary to every community; without him its very being appears 
to break up (see especially ep. Ixvi. 5). The tendencies voiced by 
Ignatius in his epistles led to every Christian community in a 
locality, however small it might be, having a bishop chosen, and 
we have every reason to suppose that the practice which already 
obtained in Syria and Asia corresponded to these tendencies. 
From the outset we observe that local churches spring into life 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 99 


a single case, from the first three centuries, which 
would lead us to infer any tendency, either upon the 
part of metropolitans or of bishops, to curb the in- 
dependent organization of the churches. Not till after 
the opening of the fourth century does the conflict 
against the chor-episcopate commence ; at least there 
is not a trace of it, so far as I know, to be found 
previous to that period. And it is then also that 
the bishops begin their attempt to prohibit the 
erection of bishoprics in the villages, as well as to 
secure the discontinuance of bishoprics in small 


everywhere, as opposed to uncertain transient unions, and while 
Christians might and did group themselves in other forms (e.g., mere | 
guilds of worship and schools of thought), these were always | 
attacked and suppressed. Neighbouring cities, like Laodicea, © 
Colossé, and Hierapolis, had churches of their own from the very 
first. So had the seaport of Corinth, as early as the days of Paul, 
while the locaiities closely “adjacent to’ Antioch (Syr.) had 
churches of their own in Trajan’s reign (Ignat., ad Phil. x.), and not 
long afterwards we have evidence of village churches also. Then, 
as soon as we hear of the monarchical episcopate, it is in relation 
to small communities. The localities which lay near Antioch had 
their own bishops, and two decades afterwards we find a bishop 
quartered in the Phrygian village of Comana (Eus., H.E., v. 16). 
The Nicene Council was attended by village bishops from Syria, 
Cilicia, Cappadocia, Bithynia, and Isauria, who had the same 
rights as the town bishops. In the so-called Apostolic Constitutions 
(middle of second century) we read: “If the number of men be 
small, and twelve persons cannot be found at one place, who are 
entitled to elect a bishop, let application be made to any of the 
nearest churehes which is well established, so that three chosen 
men may be sent who shall carefully ascertain who is worthy,” ete. 
Which assumes that even in such cases a complete or episcopal 
church results. We must therefore assume that it was the rule, in 
some at least, and probably in many, of the provinces to give every 
community a bishop. Thus the number of the local churches or 
communities would practically be equivalent to the number of the 
bishoprics. 


100 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


neighbouring townships—all with the view of in- 
creasing their own dioceses.! 

Furthermore, we have not merely an “ argumentum 
e silentio” before us here. On the contrary, after 
surveying (as we shall do in Book IV.) the Christian 
churches which can be traced circa 325 A.D., we see 
that it is quite impossible for any tendency to have 
prevailed throughout the large majority of the 


1 The chor-episcopi were first of all deprived of certain rights 
retained by the town bishops, including especially the right of 
ordination. Then they were ultimately rendered extinct. The 
main stages of this struggle throughout the East are seen from the 
following series of decisions. Canon xiii. of the Council of Ancyra 
(314 A.D.): xwperurxorovs pi eLeivar mperButépous 7 Svaxdvovs XeELpo- 
rovev (“chor-episcopi are not allowed to elect presbyters or 
deacons”). Canon xiii. of the Council of Neo-Czsarea: ot ywperio- 
Kool elo. pev eis TUTov TaV EBdopnKoVTa* ws de gvAAELTOYpyol dua THY 
orovdiy Ti Eis TOS TTWXOS ToT PEpover TLwHpevot (“ The chor-episcopi 
are indeed on the pattern of the Seventy, and they are to have the 
honour of making the oblation, as fellow labourers, on account of 
their devotion to the poor’). Canon viii. of the Council of Antioch 
(341 a.p.): “Country priests are not to issue letters of peace [i.e. 
certificates]; they are only to forward letters to the neighbouring 
bishop. Blameless chor-episcopi, however, can grant letters of 
peace.” Jbid., canon x.: “ Even if bishops in villages and country 
districts, the so-called chor-episcopi, have been consecrated as 
bishops, they must recognize the limits of their position. Let 
them govern the churches under their sway and be content with 
this charge and care, appointing lectors and sub-deacons and 
exorcists ; let them be satisfied with expediting such business, but 
never dare to ordain priest or deacon without the bishop of the 
town to whom the rural bishop and the district itself belong. 
Should anyone dare to contravene these orders, he shall be deprived 
of the position which he now holds. A rural bishop shall be 
appointed by the bishop of the town to which he belongs.” Canon 
vi. of the Council of Sardica (343 a.p.): pay e&etvar drs Kkabiorav 
éxiaxorov év Kwpy Twi 7) Bpaxeia ToAEL, Aru Kai eis povos zperBUTEpos 
érapkel. ovk dvaykaiov yap érurKkdrous éxeioe KabioTacbat, iva pa) KaTEV- 


A A “ > / m” \ e > 4 > > t4 a > , 
reAily,TaL 10 TOD ETLTKOTOU OVOMA KAL 1) avdevtia, dAX’ ot THS erapxias 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 101 


Roman provinces which would check the formation 
of bishoprics, inasmuch as almost all the churches in 
question can be proved to have been episcopal. We 
are led to conclude, then, that wherever communities, 
episcopally governed, were scanty, Christians were also 
scanty upon the whole ; while, if a town had no bishop 
at all, the number of local Christians was insignificant. 
Certainly in the course of the Christian mission, in 
several directions, whole decades passed without more 


érickorot év TavTats Tais TOAcot Kabiorav erirKorous OdeiAovoew, evOa 
Kal mpoTepov éTVyXavov yeyovores éxicKkoToL. ei d€ EtpicKoLTO OvTw 7AN- 
Givoved Tis €v TOAAG ApiOuG Aaod TorLs, ws agiav aitiv Kal éxuTKOTS 
vopilerOa, \apBaverw (“It is absolutely forbidden to ordain a bishop 
in any village or small town for which even a single presbyter is 
sufficient—for it is needless to ordain bishops there—lest the name 
and authority of bishops be made of small account. But the bishops 
of the provinces ought to appoint bishops in those cities where there 
were bishops previously; and if any city be found to contain a 
population large enough to merit a see, then let one be founded 
there’’). Canon lvii. of the Council of Laodicea: ‘ In villages and 
country districts no bishops shall be appointed, but only visitors 
(repiodevtai), nor shall those already appointed act without the 
consent of the city bishop.’”” By the opening of the fifth century 
this process had gone to such a length that Sozomen (H.E., vii. 19) 
notes, as a curiosity, that “there are cases where in other nations 
bishops do the work of priests in villages, as I myself have seen 
in Arabia and Cyprus and in Phrygia among the Novatians and 
Montanists” (év dAdo eOveriv -eotw orn Kal ev Kwpats ericKoToL 
tepotvrat, ws rapa ‘ApaBiors kai Kvmpois éyvwv Kal rapa tois ev Ppvyias 
Navatiavois «at Movravorais). In Northern Africa, upon the 
other hand, no measures were taken against the smaller bishops. 
Augustine himself (ep. cclxi.) erected a new bishopric within his 
own diocese, whilst even after the year 400 it is plain that the 
number of bishoprics in Northern Africa went on increasing. We 
may take it that in provinces where the village bishoprics were 
numerous (ze. in the majority of the provinces of Asia Minor, 
besides Syria, Phoenicia, Palestine, and Cyprus), the total number 
of bishoprics did not materially increase after 325 a.p. Probably, 
indeed, it even diminished. 


102 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


than one bishop in a province or in an extensive 
tract of country. We might also conjecture, a 
priori, that wherever a district was uncultivated or 
destitute of towns—as on the confines of the empire 
and beyond them—years passed without a single 
bishop being appointed, the scattered local Christians 
being superintended by the bishop of the nearest 
town, which was perhaps far away. It is quite 
credible that, even after a fully-equipped hierarchy 
had been set up in such an outlying district, this 
bishop should have retained certain rights of super- 
vision—for it is a question here, not simply of personal 
desire for power, but of rights which had been already 
acquired. Still, it is well-nigh impossible for us 
nowadays to gain any clear insight into circum- 
stances of this kind, since after the second century 
all such cases were treated and recorded from the 
standpoint of a dogmatic theory of ecclesiastical 
polity—the theory that the right of ordination was 
a monopoly of the original apostles, and consequently 
that all bishoprics were to be traced back, either 
directly to them, or to men whom they themselves 
appointed. The actual facts of the great mission 
promoted by Antioch (as far as Persia, eastwards), 
Alexandria (into the Thebais, Libya, Pentapolis, and 
eventually Ethiopia), and Rome, appeared to corro- 
borate this theory. The authenticated instances 
from ancient history (for we have no detailed know- 
ledge of the Bosphorus or of Gothia) permit us to 
calculate, e.g., that the power of ordination possessed 
by the bishop of Alexandria extended over four 
provinces. Still, as has been remarked already, the 
original circumstances remain obscure. It is relevant 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 103 


also at this point to notice the tradition, possibly an 
authentic one, that the first bishop of Edessa was 
consecrated by the bishop of Antioch (Doctr. 
Addaei, p. 50), and that the Persian church was for 
a long while dependent upon the church of Antioch, 
from which it drew its metropolitans.' But even 
when this was in force, the imperial church had 
already firmly embraced the theory that episcopal 
ordination could only be perpetuated within the 
apostolic succession. 

There are also instances, of course, in which, during 
the third century (for, apart from Egypt, no sure 
proofs can be adduced at an earlier period), Christian 
communities arose in country districts which were 
superintended by presbyters or even by deacons alone, 
instead of by a bishop. Such cases, however, are far 
from numerous.” They are infrequent till in and after 


1 Hoffmann, Ausziige aus syrischen Akten persischer Martyrer (1880), 
p. 46; and Uhlemann, Zeitschrift f. d. hist. Theol. (1861), p. 15. 
But the primitive history of Christianity in Persia lies wrapt in 
obscurity, or buried in legends. 

2 No case is known, so far as I am aware, during the pre- 
Constantine period in Northern Africa. One might infer, from 
epistles i. and lviii. of Cyprian, that there were no bishops at Furni 
and Thibaris, but from sentent. episcop. (59 and 37) it is evident that 
even these churches were ruled by one bishop. Probably the see 
was vacant when Cyprian wrote epistle i.; but this hypothesis is 
needless so far as regards ep. lviii. The reference to Cypr. ep. 
Ixviii. 5 is extremely insecure. It is unlikely that even in Middle 
and Lower Italy churches existed without bishops during the third 
century. We must not argue from cpp. 4 and 7 of the letter 
written by Firmilian of Iconium (Cypr., ep. Ixxv.) in favour of 
churches without bishops, surprising as is the expression “ seniores 
et praepositi”’ or “ praesident maiores natu.” But there was such 
a church at the village of Malus near Ancyra (see Acta Mart. 
Theodot., 11. 12). 


104 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the age of Diocletian.‘ Before then, so far as I know, 
there was but one large district in which presbyterial 
organization was indeed the rule, viz., Egypt. Yet, as 
has been already observed, the circumstances of Egypt 
are most obscure. It is highly probable that for a 
considerable length of time there were no monarchical 
bishops at all in that country, the separate churches 
being grouped canton-wise, and superintended by 
presbyters. Gradually the episcopal organization ex- 
tended itself during the course of the third century, 
yet even in the fourth century there were still large 
village churches which lacked any bishop. We must, 
however, be on our guard against drawing conclusions 
from Egypt and applying them to any of the other 
Roman provinces. It has been inferred, from the sub- 
scriptions to the Acts of the synod of Elvira, that some 
Spanish towns, which were merely represented by 
presbyters at the synod, did not possess any bishops of 
their own. ‘This may be so, but the very Acts of the 
synod clearly show how precarious is the inference ; 
for, while many presbyters subscribed these Acts, it 
can be proved that in almost every case the town 
churches which they represented did possess a bishop. 
The latter was prevented from being present at the 
synod, and, like the Roman bishop, he had himself 
represented by a presbyter or deputation of the 


1 We must not, of course, enlist cases in which presbyters or 
presbyters and deacons ruled a community during an episcopal 
vacancy. Even though they employed language which can only be 
described as episcopal (cp. the eighth document of the Roman clergy 
among Cyprian’s letters), they were simply-regents; see ep. Xxx. 
8. ‘We thought that no new step should be taken before a bishop 
was appointed” (ante constitutionem episcopi nihil innovandum 
putavimus). 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 105 


clergy. Nevertheless it is indisputable, on the ground 
of the sixty-seventh canon of Elvira (‘si quis diaconus 
regens plebem sine episcopo vel presbytero,”’ etc ), 
that there were churches in Spain which had not a 
bishop or even a presbyter, although we know as 
little about the number of such churches as about the 
conditions which failed to bring about the appoint- 
ment of any bishop or presbyter. In any case, the 
management of a church by a deacon must have 
always been the exception (mainly an emergency 
measure in the days of persecution), since it was 
unlawful for him to perform the holy sacrifice (see 
the fifteenth canon of Arles). It is impossible to 
decide whether by the émy#pioe rperBitepor mentioned 
in the thirteenth canon of Neo-Cwsarea we are to 
understand independent presbyters in country 
churches or presbyters who had a chor-episcopus over 
them. Possibly the latter is the true solution, since 
we must assume a specially vigorous development of 
the chor-episcopate in the neighbouring country of 
Cappadocia, which sent no fewer than five chor- 
episcopi to the council of Nicaea. On the other 
hand, it follows from the Testament of the Forty 
Martyrs of Sebaste that there were churches in the 
adjoining district of Armenia which were ruled by a 
presbyter, and in which no chor-episcopate seems to 
have existed. Armenia, however, was a frontier 
province, and we cannot transfer its peculiar circum- 
stances en masse to the provinces of Pontus and 
Cappadocia. The “ priests in the country,” mentioned 
in the eighth canon of Antioch (341 a.D.), are 
certainly priests who had supreme authority in their 
local spheres, but the synod of Antioch was held in 


106 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the post-Constantine period, and the circumstances of 
341 a.p. do not furnish any absolute rule for those of 
an earlier age. It is natural to suppose that the 
contemporary organization of the cantons in Gaul,’ 
which hindered the development of towns, proved 
also an obstacle to the thorough organization of the 
episcopal system; so that one might conjecture 
imperfectly organized churches to have been numerous 
in that country (as in England). But on this point 
we know absolutely nothing. And besides, even in 
the second century there was a not inconsiderable 
number of towns in Gaul where the local conditions 
were substantially the same as those which prevailed 
in the other Roman towns.’ 

It is impossible, therefore, to prove that for whole 
decades there were territorial or provincial bishops 
who ruled over a number of dependent Christian 
churches in the towns; we are rather to assume that 
if bishops actually did wield episcopal rights in a 
number of towns, it was in towns where only an 
infinitesimal number of Christians resided within the 
walls. Anyone who asserts the contrary with regard 
to some provinces, cannot be refuted. I admit that. 

1 See Mommsen’s Rom. Gesch., v. 81 f. [Eng. trans., i. 92 f.], and 
also Marquardt’s Rom. Staatsverwaltung, i. 7 f. 

2 Two systems prevailed in the civil government, as regards the 
country districts ; the latter were either placed under the jurisdic- 
tion of a neighbouring town or assigned magistrates of their own 
(see Hatch-Harnack, Gesellschaftsverfassung der christlichen Kirchen, 
p- 202). The latter corresponded to the chor-episcopate, the 
former to the direct episcopal jurisdiction and administration of the 
town bishop. The blending of the two systems, with more or less 
independent country presbyters and reserved rights on the part of 


the bishop, was the latest development. Its earliest stage falls 
within the second half of the third century. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 107 


But the burden of proof rests with him. The assertion, 
for example, that Autun, Rheims, Paris, etc., had a 
fairly large number of Christians by the year 240 or 
thereabouts, while the local Christian churches had 
no bishop, cannot be proved incorrect, in the strict 
sense of the term. We have no materials for such 
a proof. But all analogy favours the truth, here 
also, of the conclusion: if the Christians in Autun, 
Rheims, Paris, etc., were so numerous circa 240 A.D., 
then they had bishops; if they had no bishops, then 
they were quite scanty. In my opinion, we may 
put it thus: (1) It is entirely possible, and, indeed, 
extremely likely (cp. the evidence of Cyprian), that 
before the middle of the third century there were 
already some other episcopal churches in Gaul, even 
apart from the “province”; (2) if Lyons was really 
the sole episcopal church of the country, then there 
was only an infinitesimal number of Christians in 
Gaul outside that city. 

We come back now to one of Theodore’s remarks. 
** At the outset,” he wrote, “there were but two or 
three bishops, as a rule, in a province—a state of matters 
which prevailed in most of the Western provinces till 
quite recently, and which may still be found in several, 
even at the present day.” This is a statement which 
yields us no information whatsoever. For Theodore 
did not know any more than we moderns know about 
the state of matters “at the outset.” The assertion that 
there were not more than two or three bishops in the 
majority of the Western provinces ‘till quite recently,” 
is positively incorrect, and only proves how small 
was Theodore’s historical knowledge of the Western 
churches ; and finally, while the information that 


108 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


several Western provinces even yet had no more than 
two or three bishops, is accurate, it is irrelevant, since 
we know, even apart from Theodore’s testimony, that 
the number of bishoprics in the Roman _ provinces 
adjoining the large northern frontier of the empire, 
as well as in England, was but small. But this 
scantiness of contemporary bishoprics did not denote 
an earlier (and subsequently suspended) phase of the 
church’s organization tenaciously maintaining itself. 
W hat it denoted was one result of the local conditions 
of the population and also the rarity of Christians in 
those districts. So far, of course, these local circum- 
stances resembled those in which Christianity subsisted 
from the very outset over all the empire, when the 
Christians—and the Romans—of the region lived still 
in the Diaspora. 

At this point we might conclude with the remark 
that the striking historical paragraph of Theodore 
does not contain a single element of truth answering 
to the real position of affairs. But in the course of 
our study we have over and again touched upon the 
special position of the metropolitan, or leading bishop 
of the province. It is perfectly clear, from a number 
of passages, that the metropolitan was frequently 
described in the time of Eusebius simply as ‘ the 
bishop of the province.” The leading bishop was 
thus described even as early as Dionysius of Corinth 
or Ignatius himself. With regard to the history of the 
extension of Christianity—ain so far as we are concerned 
to determine the volume of tendency making for the 
formation of independent churches—the bearing of 
this fact is really neutral. But it is not neutral with 
regard to the idea which has to be formed of the 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 109 


course taken by the history of ecclesiastical organi- 
zation. Unluckily our sources here fail us for 
the most part. The uncertain glimpses they afford 
do not permit us to obtain any really historical 
idea of the situation, or even to reconstruct any 
course of development along this line. How old 
is the metropolitan? Is his position connected 
with a power of ordination which originally passed 
from but one man to another in the province ? 
Does the origin of the metropolitan’s authority go 
back to a time where the apostles still survived ? Does 
any connection exist here? And are we to distinguish 
between one bishop and another, so that in the earlier 
age there would be bishops who did not ordain, or 
who were merely the vicars of a head bishop?! To 
ali these questions we are probably to return a negative 
answer én general, though an affirmative may perhaps 
be true in one or two cases. Certainty we cannot 
reach. At least, in spite of repeated exertions, I 
have not myself succeeded in gaining any tenable 
position. Frequently the facts of the situation may 
have operated quite as strongly as the rights of the 
case; 2@¢. an individual bishop may have exercised 
rights at first and for a considerable period, without 
possessing any title thereto, but simply as the outcome 
of a strong position held either on personal grounds 
or on account of the civic repute and splendour of 
his town churches.” The State provincial organization 

' One is led to put this question by learning that injunctions 
were laid down in the fourth century, which delimited the ordina- 
tion rights of the chor-episcopi (see above, p. 100). Does this 
restriction go back to an earlier age? Hardly. 


* One recollects at this point, e.g., the second epistle of Cyprian, 
mentioned already in vol. i. pp. 218, 235, which tells how the 


110 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


and administration, with the importance which it lent 
to individual towns, may have also come to exercise 
here and there some influence already upon the powers 
of individual bishops in individual provinces, by way 
of agerandisement.’ But all this pertains, probably, 
to the sphere of those elements in the situation which 
we may term “irrational,” and which do not admit 
of generalization or of being applied particularly to 
ecclesiastical rights and powers within the primitive 
age. No evidence for the defining of the metro- 
politan’s right of jurisdiction can be found earlier than 
the age in which the synodal organization had defined 
itself, and the presupposition of such a right lay in 
the sturdy independence, the substantial equality, 
and the closely knit union of all the bishops in 
any given province. All the “preliminary stages” 
lie enveloped in mist. And the scanty rays which 
struggle through, may readily prove deceptive will-o’- 
the wisps. 
Carthaginian church was prepared to undertake the support of 
an erstwhile teacher of the dramatic art, if his own church was 
not in a position to do so. It is clear that the Carthaginian church 
or bishop must have acquired a superior position amid the sister 
provincial churches, if cases of this kind occurred again and again. 
Compare also the sixty-second epistle, in which the Carthaginian 
church not only subscribes 100,000 sesterces towards the emancipa- 
tion of Christians in Africa, who had been carried off captives by 
the barbarians, but also expresses herself ready to send still more 
in case of need [ep. vol. i. pp. 232 f.]. It is well known that the 
repute of the Roman church and its bishops was increased by such 
donations, which were bestowed frequently, and bestowed even on 
remote churches. 

1 The instructive investigations of Liibeck (“ Reichseinteilung 
und kirchliche Hierarchie des Orients,’’ in Kirchengeschichtliche 


Studien, herausgeg. von Knopfler, Schrérs, und Sdralek, Bd. v. Heft 
4, 1901) afford many suggestions on this point. 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 111 


These investigations into the problems connected 
with the history of the extension of Christianity 
lead to the following result, viz., that the number 
of bishoprics in the individual provinces of the 
Roman empire affords a criterion, which is essen- 
tially reliable, for estimating the strength of the 
Christian movement. The one exception is Egypt. 
Apart from that province, we may say that Christian 
communities, not episcopally organized, were quite 
infrequent throughout the East and the West alike 
during the years that elapsed between Antoninus 
Pius and Constantine.’ Not only small towns, but 


1 Previous to the middle of the third century I do not know of 
a single case (leaving out Egypt). All the evidence that has been 
gathered from the older period simply shows that there were Chris- 
tians in the country, or that country people here and there came in to 
worship in the towns, having therefore no place of worship at home, 
and consequently no presbyters. Furthermore, the original character 
of the presbyter’s office, a character which can be traced down into 
the third century, simply does not permit any differentiation among 
the individual, independent presbyters, each of whom was a presbyter 
as being the member of a college and nothing more (cp. also Hatch- 
Harnack, Gesellschaft. der christlichen Kirchen, pp. 76 f., 200 f.; the 
right of presbyters to baptize was originally a transmitted right and 
nothing more. Hatch refers the rise of parishes also to a later time). 
I should conjecture that the organization of presbyterial village 
churches began first of all when the town congregation in the largest 
towns had been divided into presbyters’ and deacons’ districts, 
and when the individual presbyters had thus become relatively 
independent. In Rome this distribution arose rather later than 
the middle of the third century, and originally it went back to the 
division into civic quarters (not to the synagogue). The necessity 
of having clergy appointed for the country, even where there 
were no bishops, emerged further throughout the East wherever 
a martyr’s grave or even a churchyard had to be looked after (ep. 
the Testament of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste). Again, we know 
from the history of Gregory Thaumaturgus and other sources 
(cp. the Acta Theodoti Ancyr.) that after the middle of the 


112 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


villages also had bishops. Cyprian made a sub- 
stantially accurate remark when he wrote to 
Antonian (ep. lv. 24): “Iam pridem per omnes 
provincias et per urbes singulas ordinati sunt 
episcopi” (“bishops have been for long ordained 
throughout all the provinces and in each city”).' 
And what was unique in the age of Sozomen (A.£., 
vii. 19), viz. that only one bishop ruled in Scythia, 


third century the great movement had begun which sought to 
appropriate and consecrate as Christian the sacred sites and cults 
of paganism throughout the country, as well as to build shrines for 
the relics of the saints. In these cases also a presbyter, or at 
least a deacon, was required, in order to take care of the sanctuary. 
Finally, the severe persecutions of Decius, Valerian, Diocletian, 
and Maximinus Daza drove thousands of Christians to take refuge 
in the country; the last-named emperor, moreover, deliberately 
endeavoured to eject Christians from the towns, and condemned 
thousands to hard labour in the mines throughout the country. 
We know, thanks to the information of Dionysius of Alexandria 
and Eusebius, that in such cases communities sprang up in the 
country districts for the purpose of worship, and these naturally 
were without a bishop, unless one happened to be among their 
number. It may be supposed that all these circumstances com- 
bined to mature the organization of presbyterial communities, an 
organization which subsequently, under the countenance of the 
town bishops, entered upon a victorious course of rivalry with the 
old chor-episcopate. Frequently, however, in the country the 
nucleus lay, not in the community, but in the sacred sites—and 
such were in existence even before the adoption and consecration 
of pagan ones, in the shape of martyrs’ graves and churchyards. 
These considerations lead me to side with Thomassin in the 
controversy between that critic and Binterim: the “ country 
parish”’ did not begin its slow process of development till after 
about 250 a.p. 

1 With this reservation, that in certain provinces the tendency 
to form independent communities proceeded more actively than 
in others. This, however, is purely a matter of conjecture; it 
cannot be strictly proved. The episcopal churches of the third 
century were most numerous in North Africa, Palestine, Syria, 


ORGANIZATION AND THE EPISCOPATE 113 


though it had many towns'—this would also have 
been unique a century and a half earlier. 

In conclusion, let 1t be remembered that the whole 
of this investigation relates solely to the age between 
Pius and Constantine, not to the primitive period 
during which the monarchical episcopate first began 
to develop. During this period—which lasted in 
certain provinces till Domitian and Trajan, and in 
many others still longer—the collegiate government 
of the individual church, by means of bishops and 
deacons (or by means of a college of presbyters, 
bishops, and deacons), was. the rule. How this passed 
over into the other (?.e. the monarchic control) we 
need not ask in this connection. But the hypothesis 
that wherever communities which are not episcopally 
organized are to be found throughout the third 
century, they are to be considered as having retained 
the primitive organization—this hypothesis, I repeat, 
is not merely incapable of proof, but incorrect. Such 
non-episcopal village churches are plainly recent 
churches, and they are managed, not by a college of 


Asia, and Phrygia; and this tells largely in favour of the view 
that the Christians of these provinces were also most numerous. 
Africa is the one country where I should conjecture that special 
circumstances led to a rapid increase of independent, ze. of 
episcopal communities; but what those circumstances were, no 
one can tell. 

1 When Sozomen continues: év aAXous 0€ Oveow eotiv day Kal ev 
Kwpais ériokoro. iepotvtat, os Tapa Apaiow Kal Kumpiows eyvev kat 
mapa Tois ev Bpvyias Navatvavots cal Movtavcrats [cp. above, p. 101]. 
one perceives that village bishops no longer existed in most of 
the provinces when he wrote (c. 430 a.p.). That they had been 
common at an earlier period is shown by the mere fact of their 
survival among the Phrygian adherents of Novatian and Montanus, 
since these sects held fast to ancient institutions, 

VOL. Il. 8 


114 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


presbyters, but by one or two presbyters. They are 
“country parishes” whose official “ presbyters ” have 
nothing in common with the members of the primitive 
college of presbyters except the name. Here I 
would again recall how Egypt forms the exception _ 
to the rule, inasmuch as large Christian churches 
throughout Egypt still continue to be governed by 
the collegiate system down to the middle of the 
third century. Nothing prevents us, in this connec- 
tion, from supposing that these churches did hold 
tenaciously to the primitive form of ecclesiastical 
organization. Yet alongside of the presbyters in 
Egypt, even dWaccako. would seem also to have had 
some share in the administration of the churches 
(Dionys. Alex., in Eus., H.I/., vii. 24). 


CHAPTER V. 
COUNTER-MOVEMENTS. 


iL. 


We have already discussed (vol. i. pp. 64 f.) the first 
systematic opposition offered to Christianity and its 
progress, viz., the Jewish counter-mission initiated 
from Jerusalem. This expired with the fall of Jeru- 
salem, or rather, as it would seem, not earlier than the 
reign of Hadrian. Yet its influence continued to 
operate for long throughout the empire, in the shape 
of malicious charges levelled by the Jews against the 
Christians. ‘The synagogues, together with individual 
Jews, carried on the struggle against Christianity 
by acts of hostility and by inciting hostility. 

1 Cp. the martyrdom of Polycarp or of Pionius. In the Martyr. 
Cononis the magistrate says to the accused: ri rAavaobe, dvOpwrov 
Geov Neyovres, Kal TovTov Piofav7y; ws ewabov rapa ‘lovdaiwy axpiBds, 
Kal Ti TO yévos adTOd Kal doa evedeiEato TO COver adiTady Kal THs aréOavev 
oraupwheis* mpoKopicavres yap aitod Ta bropvyjpara [? ?] éxuvéyywody 
po. (von Gebhardt’s Acta Mart. Selecta, p. 131): “Why do ye err, 
calling a man God, and that too a man who died a violent death ? 
For so have I learnt accurately from the Jews, both as to his race 
and his manifestation to their nation and his death by crucifixion. 
They brought forward his memoirs and read them out to me.” In 
his polemical treatise, Celsus makes a Jew come forward against 
the Christians—and this reflected the actual state of matters. Any 
pagans who wished to examine Christianity closely and critically, 


had first of all to learn from the Jews. On the other hand, as has 
115 


116 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


We cannot depict in detail the counter-movements 
on the part of the State, as these appear in its 
persecutions of the church. All that need be done 
here is to bring out some of the leading points, with 
particular reference to the significance, both negative 
and positive, which the persecutions possessed for the 
Christian mission. 

Once Christianity presented itself in the eyes of 
the law and the authorities as a religion distinct 
from that of Judaism, its character as a religio illicita 
was assured. No express decree was needed to make 
this plain. In fact, the “non licet” was rather the 
presupposition underlying all the imperial rescripts 
against Christianity. After the Neronic persecution, 
which was probably’ instigated by the Jews (see 
above, vol. i. pp. 66), though it neither extended 
beyond Rome nor involved further consequences, 
Trajan enacted that provincial governors were to use 
their own discretion, repressing any given case,’ but 


been already shown (vol. i. pp. 76 f.), the Christians did not fail to 
condemn the Jews most severely. The instance narrated by 
Hippolytus (Pihilos., ix. 12) @ propos of the Roman Christian Callistus, 
is certainly remarkable, but none the less symptomatic. In 
order to secure a genuine martyrdom, Callistus posted himself on 
Sabbath at a synagogue and derided the Jews. 

1 See Neumann’s Der rémische Staat und die allg. Kirche, i. 1890 ; 
Mommsen, “der Religionsfrevel nach rém. Recht” (in the Hist, 
Zeitschr., vol. Ixiv. [N.S. vol. xxviii.], part 3, pp. 389-429; and 
Harnack on “ Christenverfolgung”’ in the Prot. Real. Encycl. II. 

2 Without this hypothesis it is scarcely possible, in my opinion, 
to understand the persecution. 

8 Trajan approves Pliny’s procedure in executing Christians who, 
upon being charged before him, persistently refused to sacrifice. 
But he adds, “‘ nothing can be laid down as a general principle, to 
serve as a fixed rule of procedure’”’ (“in universum aliquid quod 
quasi certam formam habeat constitui non potest’’), 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS M7 


declining to ferret Christians out. Execution was 
their fate if, when suspected of /ése-majesté as well 
as of sacrilege, they stubbornly refused to sacrifice 
before the images of the gods of the emperor, thereby 
avowing themselves. guilty of the former crime. On 
the cultus of the Ccsars, and on this point alone, 
the State and the church came into collision." The 
apologists are really incorrect in asserting that the 
Name itself (‘nomen ipsum”) was visited with death. 
At least the statement only becomes correct with 
the corollary that this judicial principle was adopted 
simply because the authorities found that no true 
adherent of this sect would ever offer sacrifice.’ 

Down to the closing year of the reign of Marcus 
Aurelius, the imperial rescripts with which we are 
acquainted were designed, not to _ protect the 
Christians, but to safeguard the administration of 
justice and the police against the encroachments of 
an anti-Christian mob, as well as against the excesses 
of local councils who desired to evince their loyalty 
in a cheap fashion by taking measures against the 
Christians. Anonymous accusations had been already 
prohibited by ‘Trajan. Hadrian had rejected the 
attempts of the Asiatic diet, by means of popular 
petitions, to move governors to severe measures 
against the Christians. Pius in a number of rescripts 
interdicted all ‘novelties ” in procedure; beyond the 

! Tert., Apol. x: “Sacrilegii et majestatis rei convenimur, summa 
haec causa, immo tota est” (“ We are arraigned for sacrilege and 
treason; that is the head and front, nay, the sum total of our 
offence ’’). 

2 Pliny (ep. xevi. 5): “ Quorum nihil posse cogi dicuntur qui sunt 


re vera Christiani” (‘‘ Things which no real Christian, it is said, can 
be made to do”’). 


118 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


injunctions that Christians were not to be sought out 
(“ quaerendi non sunt”), and that those who abjured 
their faith were to go scot-free, no step was to 
be taken. During this period, accusations preferred 
by private individuals came to -be more and more 
restricted, both in criminal procedure as a whole, 
and in trials for treason. Even public opinion’ was 
becoming more and more adverse to them. And all 
this told in favour of Christianity. Most governors 
or magistrates recognized that there was no occasion 
for them to interfere with Christians; convinced of 
their real harmlessness, they let them go their own 
way. Naturally, the higher any person stood in 
public life, the greater risk he ran of coming into 
collision with the authorities on the score of his 
Christian faith. Only on the lowest level of society, 
in fact, did this danger become at all equally grave, 
since life was not really of very much account to 
people of that class. People belonging to the middle 
classes, again, were left unmolested upon the whole; 
that is, unless any conspiracy succeeded inhaling 
them before a magistrate. Down to the middle of 
the third century, this large middle class furnished 
but a very small number of martyrs. Soldiers, again, 
were promptly detected, whenever they made any 
use of their Christian faith in public. 

Apart from the keen anti-Christian temper of a few 
proconsuls and the stricter surveillance of the city- 
prefects, this continued to be the prevailing attitude 


1 Tertullian does declare (Apol. ii.) that “every man is a soldier 
against traitors and public enemies” (“in reos majestatis et publicos 
hostes omnis homo miles est’’), but he is referring to open 
criminals, not to suspected persons. 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 119 


of the State down to the days of Decius, 7z.e. to the 
year 249. During this long interval, however, three 
attempts at a more stringent policy were made. 
« Attempts” is the only term we can use in this 
connection, for all three lost their effect comparatively 
soon. Marcus Aurelius impressed upon magistrates 
and governors the duty of looking more strictly 
after extravagances in religion, including those of 
Christianity. The results of this rescript appear in 
the persecution of 176-180 a.p. ; but when Commodus 
came to the throne, the edict fell into abeyance. 
Then in 202 a.v., Septimius Severus forbade con- 
versions to Christianity, which of course involved 
orders to keep a stricter watch on Christians in 
general. As the persecutions of the neophytes and 
catechumens in 202-203 attest, the rescript was not 
issued idly; yet before long it also was relaxed. 
Finally, Maximinus Thrax ordered the clergy to be 
executed, which implied the duty of hunting them 
out—in itself a fundamental innovation in the 
imperial policy. Outside Rome, however, it is 
improbable that this order was put into practice, save 
in a few provinces, although we do not know what 
were the obstacles to its enforcement. Down to the 
days of Maximinus Thrax the clergy do not appear 
to have attracted much more notice than the laity, 
and the edict of Maximinus did not strike many of 
them down. Still, there was significance in it. 
Plainly, the State had now become alive to the 
influential position occupied by the Christian clergy. 
These attempts at severity were of brief duration. 
But the comparative favour shown to Christianity, 
upon the other hand, by Commodus, Alexander 


120 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Severus, and Philip the Arabian, led to a steady 
improvement in the prospects of Christianity with 
the passage of every decade, all the more so as the 
fanaticism of the mob and the repugnance shown by 
society towards Christians gradually declined after 
the opening of the third century. 

Viewed externally, then, the persecutions up to the 
middle of the third century were not so grave as is 
commonly represented. Origen expressly states that 
the number of the martyrs during this period was 
small and easily counted. And a glance at Carthage 
and Northern Africa (as seen in the writings of Ter- 
tullian) bears out this observation. Up till 180 a.p. 
there were no local martyrs at all; up to the time of 
Tertullian’s death there were hardly more than a 
couple of dozen, even when Numidia and Mauretania 
are included in the survey. And these were always 
people whom the authorities simply made an example 
of. Yet it would be a grave error to imagine that the 
position of Christians was quite tolerable. No doubt 
they were able, as a matter of fact, to settle down 
within the empire, but the sword of Damocles hung 
over each Christian’s neck, and at any given moment 
every Christian was sorely tempted to deny his 
faith, since denial meant freedom from all molestation. 
The Christian apologists complained most of the latter 
evil, and their complaint was just. The premium set 
by the State upon denial of one’s faith was proof 
positive, to their mind, that the administration of 
justice was controlled by demonic influence. 

Despite the small number of martyrs, we may 
not therefore underrate the courage requisite for 
becoming a Christian and behaving as a Christian. 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 12] 


Kspecially are we bound to extol the staunch adher- 
ence of the martyrs to their principles. By the word 
or the deed of a moment, they might have secured 
exemption from their punishment, but they preferred 
death to a base immunity. 

The illicit nature of Christianity unquestionably 
constituted a serious impediment to its propaganda, 
and it is difficult to say whether the attractiveness of 
all forbidden objects and the heroic bearing of the 
martyrs compensated for this drawback. It is an 
obstacle which the Christians themselves rarely 
mention, dwelling all the more upon the growth 
which accrued to them ever and anon from the 
martyrdoms. All over, indeed, history shows us 
that it is the ‘“religio pressa”’ which invariably waxes 
strong and large, persecution being obviously an 
excellent means of promoting its expansion. 

From the standpoint of morals, the position of 
living under a sword which fell but rarely, constituted 
a serious peril. Christians could go on feeling them- 
selves a persecuted flock. Yet as a rule they were 
nothing of the kind. Theoretically they could credit 
themselves with all the virtues of heroism, and yet 
these were seldom put to the proof. They could 
represent themselves as raised above the world, and 
yet they were constantly bending before it. As the 
early Christian literature shows, this unhealthy state 
of matters led to undesirable consequences.’ 


1 This does not even take into account the clandestine arrange- 
ments made with local authorities, or the intrigues and corruption that 
went on. From Tertullian’s treatise de fuga we learn that Christian 
‘churches in Africa frequently paid monies to the local funds—i.e. 
of course, to the local authorities, to ensure that their members 
were left unmolested. The authorities themselves often advised 


122 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


The development went on apace between 259 and 
303. From the days when Gallienus ruled alone, 
Gallienus who restored to Christianity the very lands 
and churches which Valerian had confiscated, down 
to the nineteenth year of Diocletian, Christians 
enjoyed a haleyon immunity which was almost as 
good as a manifesto of toleration.’ For Aurelian’s 
attempt at coercion never got further than a begin- 
ning, nor did anyone follow it up; the emperor and 
his officials, like Diocletian subsequently, had other 
business to attend to. It was during this period that 
the great expansion of the Christian religion took 
place. For a considerable period Christians had held 
property and estates (in the name, I presume, of men 
of straw); now they could come before the public 
fearlessly,’ as if they were a recognized body.® 

Between 249 and 258, however, the two chief and 
severe persecutions of Christians took place, those 
under Decius and Valerian, while the last and fiercest 


this. Cp. Tert., Apol. xxvii. : “ Datis consilium, quo vobis abutamur ” 
(* You advise us to take unfair advantage of you”); and ad Scap. 
iv.: “ Cincius Severus [the proconsul] Thysdri ipse dedit remedium, 
quomodo responderent Christiani, ut dimitti possent” (‘ Cincius 
Severus. himself pointed out the remedy at Thysdrus, showing how 
Christians should answer so as to get acquitted’’). 

' From the fragments of Porphyry’s polemical treatise, and 
indeed from his writings as a whole, we see how Christians were 
recognized (in contemporary society) as a familiar party which had 
no longer to fear any violence. 

2 We do not know under what title they came forward. 

3 Cp. the pagan (Porphyry) in Macar. Magnes., iv. 21 : of Xpurtvavot 
puovpevor TUS KaTagKEevVas TOV Vadv pLeyloTOUS OiKOUS OiKOdoMOdCL, Eis 
ods GVVLOVTES EVXOVTAL, Kaito. pNdevds KwAVovTOs év Tals oiKiats TodTO 
mpattew, TOU Kupiov SnAoveT. TavTaxdbev axovovtos (“The Christians 
erect large buildings, in imitation of the temple-fabrics. In these 
they meet for prayer, although no one forbids them to do so in 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 123 


began in February of 303. The former lasted only 
for a year, but this sufficed to spread fearful havoc 
among the churches. The number of the apostates 
was much larger, very much larger indeed, than the 
number of the martyrs. The rescript of Decius, a 
brutal stroke which was quite unworthy of any 
statesman, compelled at one blow all Christians, 
including even women and children, to return to their 
old religion or else forfeit their lives. Valerian’s 
rescripts were the work of a statesman. They dealt 
merely with the clergy, people of good position, and 
members of the court; all other Christians were let 
alone, provided that they refrained from worship. 
Their lands and churches were, however, confiscated.' 
The tragic fate of both emperors (“ mortes persecut- 
orum!”) put.a stop to their persecutions. Both had 
essayed the extirpation of the Christian church, the 
one by the shortest possible means, the other by more 


their own homes, while their Lord can plainly hear them any- 
where’’). So previously Cecilius, Minut. ix.: “ Per universum orbem 
sacraria ista taeterrima impiae coitionis adolescunt (“ All over the 
world the utterly foul rites of that impious union are flourishing 
apace”). I have no doubt that Minucius belongs to the third 
century, and not to its opening period either.—The epithet of 
Xpictiaves occurs quite openly for the first time, so far as I am 
aware, in the year 279 upon a tomb in Asia Minor (see Cumont, 
Les Inscr. chrét. de l Asie minéure, p. 11). 

1 The State never attacked the religion of private individuals. 
All it waged war upon was the refusal to perform the ceremonies 
of the cultus. Cp. the pregnant statement of the dcta Cypriani, i. : 
* Sacratissimi imperatores praeceperunt,eos qui Romanam religionem 
non colunt, debere Romanas caerimonias recognoscere ”’ (“The most 
sacred Roman emperors enjoined that those who did not adhere 
to the Roman religion should recognize the Roman rites”). It 
was on principle therefore that Valerian and Diocletian attempted 
to crush down Christian worship. 


124 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


indirect methods.’ But in both cases the repair 
of the church was effected promptly and smartly, 
while the wide gaps in the membership were soon 
filled up again, once the rule was laid down that even 
apostates could be reinstated. 

The most severe and prolonged of all the perse- 
cutions was the last, the so-called persecution under 
Diocletian. It lasted longest and raged most fiercely 
in the east and south-east throughout the domain of 
Maximinius Daza; it burned with equal fierceness, 
but for a shorter period, throughout the jurisdiction 
of Galerius; while over the domain of Maximianus 
and his successors its vigour was less marked, though 
it was still very grievous. Throughout the West its 
power was weak. It began with imperial rescripts, 
modelled upon the statesmanlike edict of Valerian, 
but even surpassing it in adroitness. Presently, 
however, these degenerated into quite a different 
form, which, although covered by the previous edicts 
of Decius, outdid them in pitiless ferocity throughout 
the East. Daza alone had recourse to preventive 
measures of a positive character. He had Acts of 
Pilate fabricated and circulated in all directions 
(especially throughout schools), which were drawn 
up in order to misrepresent Jesus ;* on the strength 
of confessions extorted from Christians, he revived 


1 Obviously they saw that the procedure hitherto adopted was 
absurd, and that it had failed to harm the church. They rightly 
judged that Christians must be exterminated, if they were not to 
beletalone. “They must be sought out and punished ” (“ quaerendi 
et puniendi sunt’’). 

2 «Even the school teachers were to lecture on these zealously 
to their pupils, instead of upon the usual scholastic subjects; they 
were also to see that they were learnt by heart.” “Children at 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 125 


the old, abominable charges brought against them, 
and had these published far and wide in every city 
bythe authorities (Kus., H.H., 1.9; 1x. 5. 7); he 
got a high official of the State to compose a polemical 
treatise against Christianity ;+ he invited cities to 
bring before him anti-Christian petitions ;° finally— 
and this was the keenest stroke of all—he attempted 
the revival and reorganization of all the cults, headed 
of course by that of the Caesars, upon the basis of the 
new classification of the provinces, in order to render 
them a stronger and more attractive counterpoise to 
Christianity. “ He ordered temples to be built in 
every city, and enacted the careful restoration of such 
as had collapsed through age; he also established 
idolatrous priests in all districts and towns, placing a 
high priest over them in every province, some official 
who had distinguished himself in every line of public 
service. He was also furnished with a military guard 
of honour.” * 

school repeated the names of Jesus and of Pilate every day, and 
also recited the Acts of Pilate, which were composed in order to 
deride us.” 

1 The emperor himself is probably concealed behind Hierocles. 

2 The cities were subservient to this command ; cp. the inscription 
of Arycanda and Eus., H.E., ix. 7. 

3 He simply copied Julian in all these measures. The moving 
spirit of the whole policy was Theoteknus (Eus., H.E., ix. 2 f.), for 
we cannot attribute it to an emperor who was himself a barbarian 
and given up to the most debased forms of excess. 

4 Eus., H.E., viii. 14; see ix. 5: “Idolatrous priests were now 
appointed in every town, and Maximinus went on to appoint high 
priests himself. For the latter position he chose men of distinction 
in public life, who had gained high credit in all the offices they had 
filled. They showed great zeal, too, for the worship of those gods.” 


Ever since the close of the second century the synodal organization 
of the church, with its metropolitans, had been moulded on the 


126 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


The extent of the apostasy which immediately 
ensued is unknown, but it must have been extremely 
large. When Constantine conquered Maxentius, 
however, and when Daza succumbed before Constan- 
tine and Licinius, as did Licinius in the end before 
Constantine, the persecution was cver.' During its 
closing years the churches had everywhere recovered 
from their initial panic-stricken terror; both inwardly 
and outwardly they had gained in strength. Thus 
when Constantine stretched out his royal hand, he 
found a church which was not prostrate and despondent 
but well-knit, with a priesthood which the persecution 
had only served to purify. He had not to raise the 
church from the dust, otherwise that politician would 
have hardly stirred a finger: on the contrary, the 
church confronted him, bleeding from many a wound, 
but unbent and vigorous. All the counteractive 
measures of the State had been proved to be of 
no avail; besides, of course, these were no longer 
supported by public opinion at the opening of the 
fourth century, as they had been during the second. 


provincial diets of the empire—z.e. the latter formed the pattern of 
the former. But so much more thoroughly had it been worked 
out, that now, after the lapse of a century, the State attempted 
itself to copy this synodal organization with its priesthood so firmly 
centralized and so distinguished for moral character. 

1 Licinius was driven in the end to become a persecutor of the 
Christians, by his opposition to Constantine (ep. the conclusion of 
Eusebius’s Church History and his ta Const., i. ad fin., ii. ad init.). 
Among his laws, that bearing upon the management of prisons (to 
which allusion has been made already; cp. vol. i. p. 204) deserves 
notice (cp. Eus., H.E., x. 8), as do the rescripts against the mutual 
intercourse of bishops, the holding of synods, the promiscuous 
attendance of men and women at worship, and the instruction of 
women by the bishops (Vita Const., i. 51. 53). 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 127 


Then the State had to curb the fanaticism of public 
feeling against the Christians; now few were to be 
found who countenanced hard measures taken by 
the State against the church. Thus Gallienus him- 
self had, at his deathbed, to revoke the edicts of 
persecution, and his reseript, which was unkindly 
phrased (Eus., H.#., viii. 17), was ultimately re- 
placed by Constantine’s great and gracious decree of 
toleration (Eus., H.E., x. 5; Lact., de mort. xlviii.). 


2. 


Several instances have been already given (in Book 
II., Chapters IV. and VI.) of the way in which 
Christians were thought of by Greek and Roman 
society and by the common people during the second 
century... Opinions of a more friendly nature were 
not common. No doubt, remarks like these were 
to be heard: “ Gaius Selus is a capital fellow. Only, 
he’s a Christian!”—‘“ I’m astonished that Lucius 
Titius, for all his knowledge, has suddenly turned 
Christian” (‘Tert., Apol. ii.).—‘* So-and-so thinks of 
matter and God just as we do, but he mingles Greek 
ideas with foreign fables” (Kus., H.H., vi. 19). They 
were reproached with being inconceivably credulous, 
and absolutely devoid of judgment, whilst Christian 
doctrine and ethics, with their absurdities and pre- 
tensions, were deemed unworthy of any one who was 
free and cultured (so Porphyry especially). But this | 
was the least of it. The majority, educated and » 


1 A complete survey is given in my Gesch. der. altchristl, Litt., i. 
pp. 865 f. 


128 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


uneducated alike, were still more hostile in the 
second century. In the foreground of their calumnies 
stood the two charges of Q(idipodean incest and 
Thyestean banquets, together with that of foreign, 
outlandish customs, and also of high treason. More- 
over, there were clouds of other accusations in the 
air. Christians, it was reported, worshipped a god 
with an ass’s head, and adored the cross, the sun, 
or the genitalia of their priests (Tert., Apol. xvi., and 
the parallels in Minutius)." It was firmly believed 
that they were magicians, that they had control over 
wind and weather, that they commanded plagues 
and famines, and had influence over the sacrifices.” 
Treatises against Christianity were not common 
in the second or even in the third century, but 
there may have been controversial debates. A 
Cynic philosopher named Crescens attacked Justin 
in public, though he seems to have done no more 
than echo the popular charge against Christianity. 
Fronto’s attack moved almost entirely upon the 
same level, if it be the case that his arguments 
have been borrowed by the pagan Cecilius in 
Minutius Felix. Lucian merely trifled with the 
question of Christianity. He was but a reckless, 
though an acute, journalist. The orator Aristides, 
again, wrote upon Christianity with ardent con- 


! It is not difficult to trace the origin of these calumnies. The 
ass’s head came, as Tertullian himself was aware, from the Histories 
of Tacitus, and referred originally to the Jews. They were doubt- 
less worshippers of the sun, because they turned to the East in 
prayer. The third libel was of course based upon the attitude 
assumed at confession. 

2 Emphasis was often laid also upon the empty and terrible 
chimeras circulated by Christians (Minut. v.). 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 129 


tempt,’ while the treatise of Hierocles, which is no 
longer extant, is described by Eusebius as extremely 
trivial. Celsus and Porphyry alone remain, of 
Christianity’s opponents.” Only two men; but they 
were a host in themselves. 


1 Orat. xlvi. He defends “the Greek nationality against the 
Christian and philosophic cosmopolitanism.” To him Christians are 
despisers of Hellenism (cp. Bernays, Ges. Abhandl., ii. p. 364). 
How aman like Tatian must have irritated him! Neumann (der 
rom. Staat u. die allgem. Kirche, p. 36) thus gives the charge of 
Aristides. “People, who themselves are simply of no account, 
venture to slander a Demosthenes, while solecisms at least, if 
nothing more, are to be found in every one of their own words. 
Despicable creatures themselves, they despise others; they pride 
themselves on their virtues, but never practise them; they preach 
self-control, and are lustful. Community of interests is their name 
for robbery, philosophy for ill-will, and poverty for an indifference 
to the good things of life. Moreover, they degrade themselves by 
their avarice. Impudence is dubbed freedom by them, malicious 
talk becomes openness forsooth, the acceptance of charity is 
humanity. Like the godless folk in Palestine, they combine 
servility with sauciness. They have severed themselves deliber- 
ately from the Greeks, or rather from all that is good in the world. 
Incapable of co-operating for any useful end whatsoever, they yet 
are masters of the art of undermining a household and setting its 
members by the ears. Not a word, not an idea, not a deed, of 
theirs has ever borne fruit. They take no part in organizing 
festivals, nor do they pay honour to the gods. They occupy no 
seats on civic councils, they never comfort the sad, they never 
reconcile those who are at variance, they do nothing for the 
advancement of the young, or indeed of anybody. They take no 
thought for style, but creep into a corner and talk stupidly. They 
are venturing already on the cream of Greece and calling themselves 
‘philosophers’! As if changing the name meant anything! As 
if that could of itself turn a Thersites into a Hyacinthus or a 
Narcissus !” 

2 Lactantius professes to know that “plurimi et multi” wrote in 
Greek and Latin against the Christians in Diocletian’s reign (Instzt., 
v. 4), but even he adduces only one anonymous writer besides 

VOL. IL. 9 


”? 


130 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


They resembled one another in the seriousness 
with which they undertook their task, in the pains 
they lavished on it, in the loftiness of their designs, 
and in their literary skill. The great difference be- 
tween them lies in their religious standpoint. Celsus’s 
interest centres at bottom in the Roman empire. He 
is a religious man because the empire needs religion, 
and also because every educated man is responsible 
for its religion. It is hard to determine what his 
own conception of the world amounts to. But for 
all the hues it assumes, it is never coloured like that 
of Cicero or of Seneca. For Celsus is an agnostic 
above all things,’ so that he appreciates the relative 
validity of idealism apart from any stiffening of 
Stoicism, just as he appreciates the relative validity 


Hierocles. Occasionally a single lttérateur who was hostile to 
Christianity, stirred up a local persecution, as, e.g., was probably the 
case with Crescens the Cynic philosopher at Rome. Even before 
the edict of Decius a persecution had broken out in Alexandria, of 
which Dionysius (in Eus., H.E., vi. 41. 1) writes as follows: ov« 
ard Tod BactALKod TpooTdypatos 6 duwypos Tap iv npaTo, adAG yap 
dXov eviavtov TpovrAaPe, Kai POdcas 6 KaxOv TH TOAE TaiTH pavTis Kal 
TOLTHS, GATLS exElvos HY, ExvyCE Kal TapOppnoe KAP Hyudv TA TAHON TOV 
eOvay, cis Ti érixdprov adtods dercdatpoviay dvappurtoas (“ Our perse- 
cution did not begin with the imperial decree, but preceded that 
decree by a whole year. The prophet and framer of evil to this 
city, whoever he was, previously stirred up and aroused against us 
the pagan multitude, reviving in them the superstition of their 
country ’’). 

1 The same sort of attitude is adopted by the pagan Cecilius (in 
Min. Felix, v. f.), a sceptic who approves of religion in general, but 
who entertains grave doubts about a universal providence. “ Amid 
all this uncertainty, your best and noblest course is to accept the 
teaching of your forebears, to honour the religious customs which 
have been handed down to you, and humbly to adore the deities 
whom your fathers taught you not to know but to fear, first and 
foremost.” Chap. vii. then runs in quite a pious current. 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 131 


of every national religion, and even of mythology 
itself. Porphyry, on the other hand, is a thinker, 
pure and simple, as well as a distinguished critic. 
And he is not merely a religious philosopher of 
the Platonic school, but a man of deeply religious 
temperament, for whom all thought tends to pass 
into the knowledge of God, and in that knowledge 
to gain its goal. 

One’s first impression is that Celsus has not a good 
word to say for Christianity. He re-occupies the 
position taken by its opponents. in the second century ; 
only, he is too fair and noble an adversary to repeat 
their abominable charges. ‘To him Christianity, this 
bastard progeny of Judaism '—itself the basest of all 
national religions—appears to have been nothing but 
an absurd and sorry tragedy from its birth down to 
his own day. He is perfectly aware of the internal 
differences between Christians, and he is familiar with 
the various stages of development in the history of 
their religion. These are cleverly employed in order 
to heighten the impression of its instability. He 
plays off the sects against the Catholic church, the 
primitive age against the present, Christ against the 
apostles, the various revisions of the Bible against 
the trustworthiness of the text, and so forth, although, 
of course, he admits that everything was not really 


1 Like Porphyry and Julian at a later period, however, Celsus 
lets Judaism pass, because it was a national religion. 4 propos of 
an oracle of Apollo against the Christians, Porphyry observes: “ In 
his quidem irremediabile sententiae Christianorum manifestavit 
Apollo, quoniam Judaei suscipiunt deum magis quam isti” Csin 
these verses Apollo exposed the incurable corruption of Christians, 
since it is the Jews, said he, more than the Christians, who 
recognize God”), Aug., de civit. dei, xix. 26. 


132 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


so bad at first as it is at present. Nor is even Christ 
exempted from this criticism. What is valuable in 
his teaching was borrowed from the philosophers ; 
the rest, 2.e. whatever is characteristic of himself, is 
error and deception, so much futile mythology. In 
the hands of those deceived deceivers, the apostles, 
this was still further exaggerated ; faith in the resur- 
rection rests upon nothing better than the evidence 
of a deranged woman, and from that day to this the 
mad folly has gone on increasing, splitting itself up, 
prostituting itself, disgracing itself, yet ever asserting 
itself withal—for the assertion, which is flung out 
at one place, that 1t would speedily be swept out of 
existence, is retracted on a later page. Christianity, 
in short, is an anthropomorphic myth of the very 
worst type. Christian belief in providence is a 
shameless insult to the Deity—a chorus of frogs, 
forsooth, squatting in a bog and croaking, ‘“ For our 
sakes was the world created ”! 

But there is another side to all this. ‘The criticism 
of Celsus does more than bring out some details of 
truth which deserve to be considered ; wherever the 
critic bethinks himself of the Christian religion, he 
betrays throughout his volume an undercurrent which 
is far from being consonant with his fierce verdict. 
For although he shuts his eyes to it, apparently 
unwilling to admit that Christianity could be, and 
had even already come to be, stated reasonably, 
he cannot get round that fact; indeed—unless all 
_ appearances are deceptive—he has no intention what- 
ever of concealing it from the penetrating reader. 
Since there is really to be such a thing as religion, 
since it is really a necessity, the agnosticism of Celsus 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 133 


leads him to make a concession, which does not differ _ 
materially from the Christian conception of God. 
He cannot take objection to much in the ethical 
counsels of Jesus—his censure of them as a plagiarism 
being simply the result of perplexity. And when 
Christians assert that the Logos is the Son of God, 
what can Celsus do but express his own agreement 
with this dictum? Finally, the whole book culminates 
in a warm patriotic appeal to Christians, not to 
withdraw from the common régime, but to lend 
their aid, in order to enable the emperor to maintain 
the vigour of the empire with its ideal benefits. 
Law and piety must be upheld against their inward 
and external foes! Now in all this surely it is easy 
enough to read between the lines. Claim no special 
position for yourselves, says Celsus, in effect, to 
Christians! Don’t rank yourselves on the same level 
as the empire! On these terms we are willing to 
tolerate you and your religion. At bottom, in fact, 


the “True Word” of Celsus is nothing more than a ~~ 


political pamphlet, a thinly disguised overture for 
peace.* 

A hundred years later, when Porphyry wrote 
against the Christians, a great change had come over 
the situation. Christianity had become a_ power. 
It had taken a Greek shape, but “the foreign myths ” 
were still retained, of course, while in the majority of 
cases at least it had preserved its sharp distinction 
between the creator and the creation, or between God 
and nature, as well as its doctrine of the incarnation 

1 Cecilius, too, was in the last resort a politician and a patriot, as 


he defended the old religion by asserting that “by means of it 
Rome has won the world” (Min. Felix vi.). 


134 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


and its paradoxical assertions of an end for the world 
and of the resurrection. This was where Porphyry 
came in, that great philosopher of the ancient world, 
himself a pupil of Plotinus and Longinus. For 
years he had been engaged in keen controversy at 
Rome with teachers of the church and gnostics, 
realizing to the full that the matter at stake was 
God himself and the supreme treasure possessed 
by mankind, viz., rational, religious truth. Porphyry 
knew nothing of political ideals. The empire had 
indeed ceased to fill many people with enthusiasm. 
Its restorer had not yet arrived upon the scene, and 
religious philosophy was living meanwhile in a state 
which it wished to begin and rebuild. Porphyry him- 
self retired to Sicily, where he wrote his fifteen books 
“against the Christians.” This work, which was 
“answered” by four leading teachers of the church 
(Methodius, Eusebius, Apollinarius, and Philostor- 
gius), perished, together with his other polemical 
treatises, owing to the victory of the church and by 
order of the emperor. All that we possess is a 
number of fragments, of which the most numerous 
and important occur in Macarius Magnes. For I 
have no doubt whatever that Porphyry is the pagan 
philosopher in that author’s “ Apocriticus.” ? 

This work of Porphyry is perhaps the most ample 
and thoroughgoing treatise which has ever been 
written against Christianity. It earned for its author 
the titles of wavrwy duvopevéstatos Kat ToreuwTaTos 
(“most malicious and hostile of all”), ‘ hostis dei, 
veritatis inimicus, sceleratarum artium magister ” 

‘ At most we must leave it an open question whether a plagiarism 
has been perpetrated upon Porphyry. 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 135 


(God’s enemy, a foe to truth, a master of accursed 
arts), and so forth.’ But, although our estimate can 
only be based on fragments, it is not too much to say 
that the controversy between the philosophy of 
religion and Christianity lies to-day im the very 
position in which Porphyry placed it. Even at this 
time of day Porphyry remains unanswered. Really 
he is unanswerable, unless one is prepared first of 
all to agree with him and proceed accordingly to 
reduce Christianity to its quintessence. In the 
majority of his positive statements he was correct, 
while in his negative criticism of what represented 
itself to be Christian doctrine, he was certainly as 
often right as wrong. Where he erred, was in his 
denials. 

The weight which thus attaches to his work is due 
to the fact that it was based upon a series of most 
thoroughgoing studies of the Bible, and that it was 
undertaken from the religious standpoint. Moreover, 
it must be allowed that the author’s aim was neither 
to be impressive nor to persuade or take the reader 
by surprise, but to give a serious and accurate 
refutation of Christianity. He wrought in the 
bitter sweat of his brow — this idealist, who was 


1 Augustine, however, called him “the noble philosopher, the 
great philosopher of the Gentiles, the most learned of philosophers, 
although the keenest foe to Christians” (‘‘philosophus nobilis, 
magnus gentilium philosophus, doctissimus philosophorum, quamvis 
Christianorum acerrimus inimicus,”’ de civit. dei, xix. 22). Compare 
the adjectives lavished on him by Jerome: “ Fool, impious, blas- 
phemer, mad, shameless, a sycophant, a calumniator of the church, 
a mad dog attacking Christ” (“Stultus, impius, blasphemus, vesanus, 
impudens, sycophantes, calumniator ecclesiae, rabidus adversus 
Christum canis ’’). 


136 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


convinced that whatever was refuted would collapse. 
Accordingly, he confined his attention to what he 
deemed the decisive points of the controversy. 
These four points were as follows:—He desired to 
demolish the myths of Christianity, ze. to prove 
that, in so far as they were derived from the Old and 
New Testaments, they were historically untenable, 
since these sources were themselves turbid and full of 
contradictions. He did not reject the Bible 2 toto as a 
volume of lies. On the contrary, he valued a great deal 
of it as both true and divine. Nor did he identify the 
Christ of the gospels with the historical Christ." For 
the latter he entertained a deep regard, which rose to 
the pitch of a religion. But with relentless powers 
of criticism he showed in scores of cases that if certain 
points in the gospels were held to be historical, they 
could not possibly be genuine, and that they blurred 
and distorted the figure of Christ. He dealt similarly 
with the ample materials which the church put to- 


1 It is only in a modified sense, therefore, that he can be 
described as an “opponent” of Christianity. As Wendland very 
truly puts it, in his Christentum u. Hellenismus (1902), p. 12, “The 
fine remarks of Porphyry in the third book of his rept ris x Aoyiwy 
dirocodias (pp. 180 f., Wolff), remarks to which theologians have 
not paid attention, show how from the side of Neoplatonism as well 
attempts were made to bring about a mutual understanding and 
reconciliation.” “ Praeter opinionem,” says Porphyry (cp. August., 
de civ. dei, xix. 23), “ profecto quibusdam videatur esse quod dicturi 
sumus. Christum enim dii piissimum pronuntiaverunt et immortalem 
factum et cum bona praedicatione eius meminerunt, Christianos vero 
pollutos et contaminatos et errore implicatos esse dicunt” (‘ What 
I am going to say may indeed appear extraordinary to some 
people. The gods have declared Christ to have been most pious ; 
he has become immortal, and by them his memory is cherished. 
Whereas the Christians are a polluted set, contaminated and 
enmeshed in error’’). Origen (Cels., I. xv., IV. li.) tells how 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 137 


gether from the Old Testament as “ prophecies of | 
Christ.” But the most interesting part of his 
criticism is unquestionably that passed upon Paul. 
If there are any lingering doubts in the mind as 
to whether the apostle should be credited, in the 
last instance, to Jewish instead of to Hellenistic Chris- 
tianity, these doubts may be laid to rest by a study 
of Porphyry. For this critic, a Hellenist of the first 
water, feels keener antipathy to Paul than to any 
other Christian. Paul’s dialectic is totally unintellig- 
ible to him, and he therefore deems it both sophistical 
and deceitful. Paul’s proofs resolve themselves for 
him into flat contradictions, whilst in the apostle’s 
personal testimonies he sees merely an unstable, 
barbarian, and insincere rhetorician, who is a foe to 

all noble and liberal culture. It is from the hostile © 
criticism of Porphyry that we learn for the first time 
what highly cultured Greeks found so obnoxious in 
the peculiar characteristics of Paul. In matters of 
detail he pointed out much that was really offensive ; 


Numenius, the Pythagorean philosopher, quoted the Jewish 
scriptures with deep respect, interpreting them allegorically (Clem. 
Alex., Strom., i. 22. 150, indeed ascribes to him the well-known 
saying that Plato is simply Moses Atticizing—ri ydp éore WAdtwv 7 
Movojs arrixi~wv ; ep. also Hesych. Miles. in Miiller’s Fragm. Hist. 
Gr., iv. 171, and Suidas, s. v. “ Novpyvos,” with the more cautious 
remarks of Eusebius in his Praep., xi. 9. 8-18. 25). Amelius the 
Platonist, a contemporary of Origen, quoted the gospel of John 
with respect (Eus., Praep., xi. 19. 1); ep. Aug., de cwit. det, x. 29: 
* Initium evangelii secundum Johannem quidam Platonicus aureis 
litteris conscribendum et per omnes ecclesias in locis eminentissimis 


proponendum esse dicebat” (“ A certain Platonist used to say that 


the opening of John’s gospel should be inscribed in golden letters 
and set up in the most prominent places of every church ye 
Longinus (zrepi tous) was acquainted with the Old Testament. 


138 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


and although the offence in Paul almost always 
vanishes so soon as the critic adopts a different 
standpoint, Porphyry never lighted upon that 
standpoint." 

Negative criticism upon the historical character of 
the Christian religion, however, merely paved the 
way for Porphyry’s full critical onset upon the 
other three doctrines of the faith which he regarded 
as its most heinous errors. The first of these was 
_ the Christian doctrine of creation, which separated 


\. the world from God, maintained its origin within 


time, and excluded any reverent, religious view of 
the universe as a whole. In rejecting this he also 
rejected the doctrine of the world’s overthrow as 
alike irrational and irreligious—the one being involved 
in the other. He then directed his fire against the 
doctrine of the Incarnation, arguing that _the Chris- 
tians made a false separation (by their doctrine of a 
creation in time) and a false union (by their doctrine 
of the incarnation) between God and the world. 
Finally, there was the opposition he offered to the 
Christian doctrine of the resurrection. 

On these points Porphyry was inexorable, warring 
against Christianity as against the worst of man- 
kind’s foes ; but in every other respect he was entirely 
at one with the Christian philosophy of religion, and 
was quite conscious of this unity. And in his day the 
Christian philosophy of religion was no longer entirely 
inexorable on the points just mentioned; it made 
great efforts to tone down its positions for the benefit 






! Longinus also had read the epistles of Paul, whom he describes 
as mpOTov mpootauevov Sdypatos dvarodetxtou (Fragm. I., e, Cod. Vat. 


Urbin. ). 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 139 


of Neoplatonism, as well as to vindicate its scientific 
(and therefore its genuinely Hellenic) character. 

How close the opposing forces already stood to 
one another! Indeed, towards the end of his life 
Porphyry seems to have laid greater emphasis upon 
the points which he held in common with the specula- 
tions of Christianity,t and the letter he addressed to 
his wife Marcella might almost have been written 
by a Christian. 

In the work of Porphyry Hellenism wrote its 
testament with regard to Christianity—for Julian’s 
polemical treatise partook more of a retrograde move- 
ment. The church managed to get the testament 
ignored and invalidated, but not until she had four 
times answered its contentions. It is an irreparable loss 
that these replies have not come down to us, though 
it is hardly a loss so far as their author is concerned. 


1 The magical, thaumaturgic element which Porphyry, for all 
his clear, scientific intellect, held in honour, was probably allowed 
to fall into the background while he attacked the Christians. But 
his Christian opponents took note of it. Here indeed was one 
point at which they were the more enlightened of the two parties, 
unless they had already been engulfed themselves in the cult of 
relics and bones. The characterisation of Porphyry which 
Augustine gives in the de ciit. dei (x. 9) is admirable: “ Nam et 
Porphyrius quandam quasi purgationem animae per theurgian, 
cunctanter tamen et pudibunda quodam modo disputatione, 
promittit, reversionem vero ad deum hance artem praestare cuiquam 
negat, ut videas eum inter vitium sacrilegae curiositatis et philo- 
sophiae professionem sententiis alternantibus fluctuare” (“ For 
even P. holds out the prospect of some kind of purgation of the 
soul, by aid of theurgy ; though he does so with some hesitation 
and shame, denying that this art can secure for anyone a return 
to God. Thus you can detect his judgment vacillating between 
the profession of philosophy and an art which he feels to be both 
sacrilegious and presumptuous ’’). 


140 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


We have no information regarding the effect 
produced by the work, beyond what may be gathered 
from the horror displayed by the fathers of the 
church. Yet even a literary work of superior 
excellence could hardly have won the day. The 
religion of the church had become a world-religion 
by the time that Porphyry came to write, nor can 
any professor wage war successfully against such 
religions, unless his hand grasps the sword of the 
reformer as well as the author’s pen. 


The daily intercourse of Christians and pagans is 
not to be estimated, even in Tertullian’s age, from 
the evidence supplied by episodes of persecution. It 
is unnecessary to read between the lines of his ascetic 
treatises, for numerous passages show, involuntarily 
but obviously, that as a rule everything went on 
smoothly in their mutual relationships. People lived 
together, bought and sold, entertained each other, 
and even intermarried. In later days it was certainly 
not easy to distinguish absolutely between a Christian 
and a non-Christian in daily life. Many a Christian 
belonged to “ society ” (see Book IV. Ch. II.), and the 
number of those who took umbrage at the faith 
steadily diminished. Origen had a position in the 
world of scholarship, where he enjoyed great repute. 
Paul of Samosata, who was a bishop, formed an 
influential and familiar figure in the city of Antioch. 
The leading citizens of Carthage were friends of 
Cyprian, according to the latter’s biography (ch. xiv.), 
and even when he lay in prison they were true to 
him. ‘ Meantime a large number of eminent people 
assembled, people, too, of high rank and good family 


‘| COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 14] 


as well as-of excellent position in this world. All 
of these, for the sake of their old friendship with 
Cyprian, advised him to beat a retreat. And to 
make their advice substantial, they further offered 
him places to which he might retire” (‘‘ Conveniebant 
interim plures egregii et clarissimi ordinis et sanguinis, 
sed et saeculi nobilitate generosi, qui propter amicitiam 
eius antiquam secessum subinde suaderent, et ne 
parum esset nuda suadela, etiam loca in quae secederet 
offerebant”). Yet all this cannot obscure the fact 
that, even at the opening of the fourth century, 


hristianity still found the learning of the ancient ~ 


a 


world, so far as that survived, in opposition to: itself. | 


One swallow does not make a summer. One Origen, 
for all his following, could not avail to change the 
real posture of affairs. Origen’s Christianity was 
passed over as an idiosyncrasy ; it commended itself 
to but a smail section of contemporary scholars ; 
and while people learned criticism, erudition, and 
philosophy from him, they shut their eyes to his 
religion. Nor were matters otherwise till the middle 
of the fourth century. Learning continued to be 
“pagan.” It was the great theologians of Cappadocia 
and, to a more limited extent, those of Antioch 
(though the latter, judged by modern standards, 
were more scientific than the former), who were the 
first to inaugurate a change in this respect, albeit 
within well-defined limits. They were followed in 
this by Augustine. Throughout the East, ancient 
learning really never came to terms at all with 
Christianity, not even by the opening of the fifth 
century ; but, on the other hand, it was too weak to 
be capable of maintaining itself side by side with the 


142 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIAN? TY 

church in her position of privilege, and consequently 
it perished by degrees. By the time that it died, 
however, Christianity had secured possession of a 
segment, which was by no means inconsiderable, of 
the circle of human learning. 


CoNCLUSION. 


Hergenréther (Handbuch der allgem. Kirchengesch., 
i. pp. 109 f.) has drawn up, with care and judgment, 
a note of twenty causes for the expansion of 
Christianity, together with as many causes which 
must ‘have operated against it. ‘The survey is not 
without value, but it does not clear up the problem. 
If the missionary preaching of Cliristianity in word 
and deed embraced all that we have attempted to 
state in Book II., and if it was allied to forces such as 
those which have come under our notice in Book IIL., 
then it is hardly possible to name the collective 
reasons for the success, or for the retardation, of the 
movement. Still less can one think of grading them, 
or of determining their relative importance one by 
one. Finally, one has always to recollect not only the 
variety of human aptitudes and needs and culture, but 
also the development which the missionary preaching 
of Christianity itself passed through, between the 
initial stage and the close of the third century. 

Reflecting more closely upon this last-named con- 
sideration, one realizes that the question here has not 
been correctly put, and also that it does not admit 
of any simple, single answer whatsoever. At the 
opening of the mission we have Paul and some 
anonymous apostles. They preach the unity of God 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 143 


and the near advent of judgment, bringing tidings 
to mankind of Jesus Christ, who had recently been 
crucified, the Son of God, the Judge, the Saviour. 
Almost every statement here seems paradoxical and 
upsetting. ‘Towards the close of the epoch, there 
was probably hardly one regular missionary at work. 
The scene was occupied by a powerful church with an 
impressive cultus of its own, with priests, and with 
sacraments, embracing a system of doctrine and a 
philosophy of religion which were capable of com- 
peting on successful terms with any of their rivals. 
This church exerted a missionary influence in virtue of 
her very existence, inasmuch as she came forward to 
represent the consummation of all previous movements 
in the history of religion. And to this church the 
human race round the basin of the Mediterranean 
belonged without exception, about the year 300, in so 
far as the religion, morals, and higher attainments of 
these nations were of any consequence. ‘The para- 
doxical, the staggering elements, in Christianity were 
still there. Only, they were set in a broad frame 
of what was familiar and desirable and ‘ natural,” 
clothed in a vesture of mysteries which made people 
either glad to welcome any strange, astonishing item 
in the religion, or at least able to put up with it. 
Thus, in the first instance at any rate, our question \ 
must not run— How did Christianity win over so — 
many Greeks and Romans as to become ultimately 
the strongest religion in point of numbers?” The 
proper form of our query must be—‘ How did 
Christianity express itself, so as inevitably to become 
the religion for the world, tending more and more to 
displace other religions, and drawing men to itself as 


144 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


to a magnet?” For an answer to this question we 
must look partly to the history of Christian dogma 
and of the Christian eultus. For the problem does 
not lie solely within the bounds of the history of 
Christian missions, and although we have kept it in 
view throughout the present work, it is impossible 
within these pages to treat it exhaustively. 

One must first of all answer this question by getting 
some idea of the particular shape assumed by Christi- 
anity as a missionary force about the year 50, the year 
100, the year 150, the year 200, the year 250, and the 
year 300 respectively, before we can think of raising 
the further question as to what forces may have been 
dominant in the Christian propaganda at any one 
of these six epochs. Neither must we overlook, of 
course, the difference between the state of matters 
in the East and in the West, as well as in several 
groups of provinces. And even were one to fulfil 
all these preliminary conditions, one could not proceed 
to refer to definite passages as authoritative for a solu- 
tion of the problem. All over, one has to deal with 
considerations which are of a purely general character. 
I must leave it to others to exhibit these considera- 
tions —with the caveat that it is easy to disguise the 
inevitable uncertainties that meet us in this field by 
means of the pedantry which falls back on rubrical 
headings. The results of any survey will be trust- 
worthy only in so far as they amount to such 
commonplaces as, e.g., that the distinctively religious 
element was a stronger factor in the mission at the 
outset than at a later period, that a somewhat similar 
truth applies to the charitable and economic element 
in Christianity, that the conflict with polytheism 


COUNTER-MOVEMENTS 145 


attracted some people and offended others, that the © 
same may be said of the rigid morality, and so forth. 
From the very outset Christianity came forward 
with a spirit of wntversalism, by dint of which it laid’ 
hold of the entire life of man in all its functions, ~ 
throughout its heights and depths, in all its feelings, 
thoughts, and actions. This guaranteed its triumph. — 
In and with its universalism, it also declared that 
the Jesus whom it preached was the Logos. To 
him it referred everything that could possibly be 
deemed of human value, and from him it carefully 
excluded whatever belonged to the purely natural 
sphere. From the very first it embraced humanity 
and the world, despite the small number of the elect 
whom it contemplated. Hence it was that those very - 
powers of attraction, by means of which it was enabled 
at once to absorb and to subordinate the whole of 
Hellenism, had a new light thrown upon them. 
They appeared almost in the light of a necessary 
feature in that age. Sin and foulness it put far from 
itself. But otherwise it built itself up by the aid of 
any element whatsoever that was still capable of 
vitality. Such elements it crushed .as rivals and 
conserved as materials of its own life. It could do 
so for one reason—a reason which no one voiced, and 
of which no one was conscious, yet which every truly 
plous member of the church expressed in his own 
life. The reason was, that Christianity, viewed in 
its essence, was something simple, something which 
could blend with coefficients of the most diverse 
nature, something which, in fact, sought out all such 
coefficients. For Christianity, in its simplest terms, ~ 
meant God as the Father, the Judge, and the 
10 


VOL, II, 


at 


146 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Redeemer of men, revealed in and through Jesus 
Christ. 

And was not victory the due of this religion ? 
Alongside of other religions it could not hold its own 
for any length of time; still less could it succumb. 
Yes, victory was inevitable. It had to conquer. All 
the motives which operated in its extension are 
as nothing when taken one by one, in face of the 
propaganda which it exercised by means of its own 
development from Paul to Origen, a development 
which maintained withal a strictly exclusive attitude 
towards polytheism and idolatry of every kind. 


BOOK IV 


THE SPREAD OF THE CHRISTIAN 
RELIGION 


CHAPTER I 


GENERAL EVIDENCE FOR THE EXTENT AND  IN- 
TENSITY OF THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY. THE 
MAIN STAGES IN THE HISTORY OF THE MISSION. 


8 1. Matt. xxiv. 14: «ypuxOjorera TovTO TO evayyéAov — 
Tis BacirXelas ev OAH TH olkouuevy Els MapTupLov Tacw Tos 
eOverw, Kat TOTE Eee TO TéXOS; eps, NS: eT nyeuovas Kal 
Bacire’s axOncerBe Evexev Emov els apTUptoy avTois Kul Tots 
éOverw, 

§ 2. Paul, 1 Thess. i. 8: ev wari torw [ov povov év TH 
Makedovia cai Ayala] 4 rics tov e&eAndvOev. 

Paul, Rom. i. 8: 4 rictw tuov catayyéAdNeTa ev bAw_ 
To KOTm (Cp. XV. 19). 

Paul, Coloss. 1. 6: To evayyédoy TO Tapoy ets Uuas KaBws 
Kal évy TavTt TH Kooum (Cp. Ver. 23: TO evayyéALoy TO 
KknpuxOev €vy TacH TH KTivEl TH UTO TOV ovpavov), 

§ 3. [Paul] fe bins 11 6): [ Xpioros | exnpvxOn ev 
EOveowv, emictevOn ev KoOoMM. 

§ 4. Acts xvil. 6: of TH olkoumevyy avacraTwMcarTes — 


ovro [2.€. the Christian missionaries] cai évOade rapeou, 
147 


148 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


§ 5. Acts xxi. 20: Oewpers, TOTAL pupuades Eloly ev TOIS 
’ Tovdaiors TOV TETIOTEVUKOTWVs Kal TAVTEs nrwTat TOU VO[LOU 
UTapxoucw, 

§ 6. John’s Apoe. Vil. 9: peta Tatra eldoyv Kat tdou 
OxAos TOUS Ov apiOuyoat avuTOV ovdels edvvaTO, ek TaYTOS 
eOvous Kat udA@y Kat Aawy Kat yAwooor. 

§.7. Mark xvi. 20: éxetvo: [7.e. the disciples of Jesus] 
éeEeNOovTes exnpvEay Tavtaxov ; cp. the variant appendix : 
avtos O¢ 6 “Incots aro avaTodjs Kal axl ducews eLarrérTetev 
Ot avT@v (ize: the disciples | TO lepov Kal acpPaprov KnpUy ua 
(cp. Matt. xxiv. 9, xxvii. 19, Acts 1. 8) @nGetie 
Preaching of Peter cited in Clem., Strom., vi. 6. 48). 

§ 8. Clem. Rom. v: [IlatXos . . . . dtcatocvyny dwWakas 
ddov Tov kocpwov[“* Paul . . . . having taught righteous- 
ness to all the world.”—Accordingly it is also said of 
Peter in the pseudo-Clementine epistle to James 
which introduces the pseudo-Clementine Homilies, 
that he “bore witness to all the world of the good 
King who was to come,” Tov écouevoy ayaboy dAw Te 
KOT LO pnvucas Pacirea |; Cp. xli. 4: of aTOoTOAOL . . Bas 
KaTa Ywpus Kat Toes KypvocovTes (* the apostles preach- 
ing throughout countries and cities”), and lix. 2: 
6 apiOuos . . . . Tov exAeKT@v ev Ow TH KOoum (“the 
number of the elect throughout all the world”). 

§ 9. Ignatius, Hph. i.: of éricxorra of KaTa Ta Tépara 
[7.e. Tod Koomou] opirbévtes ev “Incod Xpictod yreuy eit 
(“the bishops settled in the utmost corners of the 
world are in the mind of Jesus Christ”’). 

§ 10. Pliny’s ep. ad Traj., xcvi. (xcvil.) >“. 
visa est enim mihi res digna consultatione, maxime 
propter periclitantium numerum. multi enim omnis 
aetatis, omnis ordinis, utriusque sexus etiam, vocantur 
in periculum et vocabuntur. neque civitates tantum 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 149 


sed vicos: etiam atque agros superstitionis istius 
contagio pervagata est; quae videtur sisti et corrigi 
posse. certe satis constat prope iam desolata templa 
coepisse celebrari et sacra solemnia diu intermissa 
repeti pastumque venire victimarum, cuius adhue 
rarissimus emptor inveniebatur. ex quo facile est 
opinari, quae turba hominum emendari possit, si sit 
paenitentiae locus” (“The matter seemed to me to 
deserve thought, especially as so many are imperilled. 
For many of all ages and ranks, and even of both 
sexes, are in risk of their lives, or will be. The 
infection of the superstition has spread not only 
through cities but into villages and country districts, 
and yet it seems possible to check it and put it right. 
At any rate it is quite certain that temples which 
were almost forsaken are beginning to be frequented ; 
that sacred rites, long fallen into disuse, are being 
revived ; and that there is a market for fodder used 
by the sacrificial victims, whereas up till now buyers 
had been very scarce. Hence it is easy to imagine 
what a multitude of men could be reclaimed, if they 
had but a chance of repentance”). Compare also 
Clem. Rom. vi., and Tacit., Annal., xv. 44, where “a 
great multitude of the elect” (woAv AROS éxrexTar, 
multitudo ingens) is said to have perished by martyr- 
dom in the Neronic persecution. ‘The expression 
‘““multitudo ingens” is used in Tertullian’s A pol. xxi. 
of the number of adherents personally gained by 
Jesus. ‘Christians of the country,” first used by 
Pliny, is a term which occurs pretty frequently in 
subsequent documents. 

N 11. Hermas, S?mzl., Vili. 3: 70 dévd pov TOUTO TO meya 


\ ' ’ Nigh ‘ las \ ~ , renee ree 
TO oKEeTaCov Tedla Kal open Kal TAGQAV THV ynv VOKLOS Qeou EOTLV 


geen 


150 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


6 doGels ets OAOV TOY KOTMOY* 6 0€ vOMos OvTOS vios Oe00 éoTt 
Kknpux Gets els TH Tépara THs yas, of de UTO THY oKemny Naot 
OVTES, ol AKOUG aV’TES TOU KNPUY MATOS Kal TIT TEVTAVTES els 
airév (“This mighty tree which overshadows plains, 
mountains, and all the earth, is God’s law given to 
the whole world; and this law is the Son of God 
preached to the ends of the earth. The peoples 
under its shadow are those who have heard the 
preaching and believed on him”); ep. Sm., 1x. 17: 
Ta Opn TavTa Ta dwdeKa d@deKa hvAal cloLy al KaTOLKOVTa 
OAov TOY KOTMOY * exnpvxOn ouv eis TavTas 6 vids TOU Deo Ota 
Tov aTooToO\w .... TavTa Ta €OM Ta VO TOY oupavov 
KATOLKOUVTA, AKOUTAYTA Kal TiIcTEVTaYTA, ETL TH OVOMATL EKAH- 
Oycayv Tov viow Tov Beov (* These twelve mountains are 
twelve tribes who inhabit the whole world; to these 
tribes, then, the Son of God was preached by the 
apostles. . . . All the nations dwelling under heaven 
are called by the name of the Son of God, once they 
hear and believe ”). 

§ 12. Justin’s Apology is inscribed thus: vzep tay ex 
TavTos ryévous avOparrwv QOlKws [ALT OU LEVOV Kal émrnpeaCouevov 
(«On behalf of those in every race who are unjustly 
hated and abused”); cp. xxv., Xxvi, xxxi., xl, lu, 
and lvi., where Christians are invariably represented 
as derived “from all nations” (€« ravTwy Tay ébyev) or 
“from every race of men” (€« wavTos yévous avOpwwr) ; 
also Dial. exvii. : ovdé &v yap bAws ete Te yévos avOpwrrov, 
cite BapBapwy etre “EdAjvov ite amtA@s wTWMLOvVY OVOMaTE 
T por ayopevopevon, 7 apacoBtov [ = Scythians] 7 aotkwy 
KaAoumevwv 9 ev okyvais KTHVOT Pope olkovvTwv, €v ols dla 
Tov dvouatos TOD sTavpwHevTos “Iycot evxat . . . . yivevTat 
(“For there is not a single race of human beings, 
barbarians, Greeks, or whatever name you please to 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 151 


eall them, nomads or vagrants or herdsmen living in 
tents, where prayers in the name of Jesus the crucified 
meno offered. up... ..”); ep. [xvi], xli.,; li; lui., 
met exe; cxxxi.,.and. Apol. I. liii.: wAeovas , .%. 
Tous é& eOvav tav aro “lovdatwy Kat Lapapéewy Xpioriavovs 
eddres (“more Christians from among pagans than 
from the Jews or Samaritans ”). 

§ 13. Pseudo-Clem. (=bishop Soter), ad Cor. i: 
epnicos €00Kel Eval ATO TOU Yeov 6 AaOdS HuoY, VUE OE TIT TEU- 
TAVTES aA€loves evyevoueBa TOV OoKkovyT@V exew Beov (és Our 
people then seemed to be deserted by God; whereas 
now, after believing, we have outnumbered those 
[z.e. the Jews] who seemed to have God”). 

§ 14. The anonymous author of the epistle to Diog- 
netus, VL: éorapta KATA TAVTWV TOV TOU THMATOS “EADY 7 
Wx, Kal Xpictiavor KATA TUS TOU KOTMOU TOAELS (* Through 
all the members of the body is the soul spread; so 
are Christians throughout the cities of the world ”). 

§ 15. Celsus (in Orig., VIII. xa ULV de kdy TAava- 
Tal TIS ETL avOavwr, ada Cyretra T pos Pavarovu Oikny (ss If 
any one of you transgresses secretly, he is none the 
less sought for and punished with death”). 

§ 16. Papylus (Mart. Carpi, Papyli, ete., xxxi.: 
—éy Taon eTrapxia Kau ToNel elolv Mol TeKVA KaTa Oedy — 
(** In every province and city I have children towards 
God”). See also the remark of Melito to Marcus 
Aurelius (in Eus., H.H., iv. 26), that many imperial 
rescripts had been published in different cities regard- 
ing Christianity, and the fact that the reseript of 
Pius to the Common Diet of Asia, which contains a 
nucleus of truth, says that “many governors in the 
provinces have already addressed the emperor on the 
question of Christianity.” 


152 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


$17. Iren., I. x. 2: Totvro 70 kypvyna rapernpria Kal 
Lee Thy ToT f ekkAnola, KalTep ev OAM TH KdT MM OlerTAp- 
Mévn, ETULEAWS pudaccet, ws €va OlKOY Olkovca* Kal Omolws 
TIFTEVEL TOUTOLS, ws play Wuxny Kat Thy aQuTHy exoura kapolay, 
Kal TuuPwvens TAUTA KNPVTTEL Kal OloacKel Kal Trapadlowaw, ws 
éy oTOma KEeKTHMLEVN * Kal yap ai KaTa TOV KOoTMOV OLaAEKTOL 
avomotat, ANN’ 7 Ovvaps Tis Tapadocews pla Kal 4 avTA* Kat 
OUTE al eV Pepmavias id pupevau éxkAnolat G\Aws TeTITTEVKATW 
7 GAXws Tapadwoaru, oUTe ev Tals TBypias ovte ev KeXrtois 
oUTE KATO Tas avatoAas OUTE ev AlyirTo OUTE ev AtBon OUTE 
al KaTa “eT a TOU KOTHLOU (Opumevat : arn’ Oo TEP © HALOS ee 
év OA TO KOTHw Eis Kal O autos, OUTW Kal TO KnPVYMa THs 
aAnBetas Tavtaxy cpatver (% Though scattered throughout 
the whole world, the church. carefully keeps this 
preaching and faith which she has received, as if she 
dwelt in a single house. Likewise she believes these 
doctrines as if possessed of a single soul and of one 
heart, proclaiming and teaching and handing them 
down with unbroken harmony, as if possessed of but 
one mouth. For although the languages of the world 
are varied, yet the meaning of the Christian tradition 
is one and the same. ‘There is no whit of difference 
in what is believed or handed down by the churches 
planted in Germany or in Iberia or in Gaul or in the 
East or in Egypt or in Libya or in the central region 
of the world. Nay, as the sun remains the same all 
over the world . . . . so also the preaching of the faith 
shines everywhere”). See also III. 11. 8: catéoraprat 
y exkAnola emt macys THS yas (“the church is scattered 
over all the earth”), l. 31, 2: ov értiw apiOuov etreiv 
TOV Xapioarov av KaTa TavTos Tou K Oo [LOU 7 exkAnola Tapa 
Qeod NaBovca, x.7.r. (“ It is impossible to enumerate the 
gifts received by the church from God over all the 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 153 


world,” etc,), and iii. 4. 1: “Quid autem si neque 
apostoli quidem scripturas reliquissent nobis, nonne 
oportebat ordinem sequi traditionis quam tradiderunt 
iis quibus committebant ecclesias? cui ordinationi 
assentiunt multae gentes barbarorum eorum qui in 
Christum credunt, sine charta vel atramento scriptam 
habentes per spiritum in cordibus salutem (‘‘ What if ~ 
even the apostles had not left us writngs? Would 
it not be necessary for us then to follow the course of 
that tradition which they bequeathed to those in 
whose care they left the churches ?—a course adhered 
to by many nations among the barbarians who believe 
in Christ, having salvation written in their hearts by 
the Spirit, without ink or paper ”). 

§ 18. Clem. Alex., Strom., vi. 18. 167: 6 tov didac- 
kaAou TOU HILETEPOU Novos ovK €melvey ev Tovdata Movn, cabaTrep 
ev TH ‘EXAaoe 7) procodia, ex vOn O€ ava Tacay THY OlKOUMEeVyY 
melOwy “EAAjvwv Te Omov Kal BapBapwv kata €Ovos Kal KwmnY 
Kau ToAw TAT AV, olKous OAous Kat (ola €KAT TOV TOV eT akn- 
KoOTwY, Kal avTayv ye Tov pirocddwy ovK oNéyous yon emt 
adnOeav weOiaras (“The word of our teacher did not 
remain in Judza alone, as did philosophy in Greece, 
but was poured out over the whole universe, per- 
suading Greeks and barbarians alike in the various 
nations and villages and cities, winning over whole 
households, and bringing to the truth each individual 
of those who had believed, as well as not a few 
philosophers ”). 

§ 19. Polycrates (in Eus., H.H., v. 24. 7) says of 
himself, that he had “met with Christian brethren 
from all over the world” (cuuBeBryKws Tots aro Tijs 
oikouperns adeA ois. ) 

§ 20. Tertullian, Apol. ii.: “ Obsessam vociferantur 


x 


154 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


civitatem, in agris, in castellis, in insulis Christianos, 

omnem sexum, aetatem, condicionem, etiam digni- 

tatem transgredi ad hoc nomen”/(‘The ery is that the 
~ State is infested with Christians, in the fields, in the 
villages, in the lodging-houses! Both sexes, every age 
and condition of life, rank itself, are gone over to the 
Christian name!”).) xxxvil.: “Si et hostes exertos 
non tantum vindices occultos agere vellemus, deesset 
nobis vis numerorum et copiarum ? plures nimirum 
Mauri et Marcomanni ipsique Parthi vel quantae- 
cumque unius tamen loci et suorum finium gentes 
quam totius orbis? hesterni sumus et vestra omnia 
implevimus, urbes, insulas, castella, municipia, con- 
ciliabula, castra ipsa, decurias, palatium, senatum, 
forum, sola vobis relinquimus templa. cui bello non 
idonei, non prompti fuissemus, etiam impares copiis, 
qui tam libenter trucidamur, si non apud istam discip- 
linam magis occidi liceret quam occidere ? potuimus 
et inermes nec rebelles, sed tantummodo discordes 
solius divortii invidia adversus vos dimicasse. si enim 
tanta vis hominum in aliquem orbis remoti sinum 
abrupissemus a vobis, suffudisset utique dominationem 
vestram tot qualiumcumque civium amissio, immo 
etiam et ipsa destitutione punisset. Procul dubio expa- 
vissetis ad solitudinem vestram, ad silentium verum 
et stuporem quendam quasi mortui orbis. . . . plures 
hostes quam cives vobis remansissent. nune etiam 
pauciores hostes habetis prae multitudine Christian- 
orum, paene omnium civitatium paene omnes cives 
Christianos habendo” (“If we wanted to play the part 
of avowed enemies, not merely of secret avengers, 
would we be lacking in numbers or resources ? do the 

Mauri, the Marcomanni, the Parthians themselves, or 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 155 


any nation, however great, belonging to one country 
and living within its own boundaries, do these, for- 
sooth, outnumber one that is all over the world ? 


| Weare but of yesterday. Yet we have filled all the 


places you frequent—cities, lodging-houses, villages, 
townships, markets, the camp itself, the tribes, town 
councils, the palace, the senate, and the forum. All 
we have left you is your temples. | For what war 
should we not have been fit and ready, even despite 
our inferiority in numbers, we who are so willing to 
perish, were it not better, according to our mind, to 
be killed rather than to kill? We could have fought 
you even without being rebels, simply by showing 
our ill-will in separating from your polity. For if 
such a force of men as ours had broken away from 
you to some distant corner of the world, why, your 
empire would have been covered with shame at the 
loss of so many citizens, no matter who they were ; 
nay, your punishment would have been civic bank- 
ruptey. Undoubtedly you would have shuddered at 
your desolate condition, at the very silence, and at 
the stupor as of a world lying in death... . You 
would have been left with more foes than citizens ; 
for nowadays it is owing to the multitude of Chris- 
tians that your foes are fewer, since nearly all the 
citizens of nearly all your cities are Christians”). 
Ad Scap. ii.: “Tanta hominum multitudo, pars 
paene maior civitatis cuiusque, in silentio et modestia 
agimus” (“For all our vast numbers, constituting 
almost a majority in every city, we lead a quiet and 
modest life”). 4d Scap. v.: “ Hoc si placuerit et hic 
fieri [2.e. bloody persecutions], quid facies de tantes 
milibus hominum, tot viris ac feminis, omnis sexus, _ 


156 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


omnis aetatis, omnis dignitatis, offerentibus se tibi ? 
quantis ignibus, quantis gladiis opus erit ? quid ipsa 
Carthago passura est, decimanda a te, cum _ pro- 
pinquos, cum contubernales suos illic unus quisque 
cognoverit, cum viderit illic fortasse et tui ordinis 
viros et matronas et principales quasque personas et 
amicorum tuorum vel propinquos vel amicos ? parce 
ergo tibi, si non nobis; parce Carthagini, si non tibi; 
parce provinciae, quae visa intentione tua obnoxia 
facta est concussionibus et militum et inimicorum 
suorum cuiusque (“Should you determine to carry 
out this policy here, what will you do with so many 
thousands of people, men and women, of both sexes 
and of every age and rank, all presenting themselves 
to you? What fires, what swords you will require ? 
What will Carthage herself have to suffer if thus you 
have to decimate her, since everyone will recognize in 
their number his relatives and companions, catching 
sight perhaps of men and women there who belong to 
your own rank, and recognizing all the principal men 
of the city, with kinsmen or friends of your own 
circle? Spare yourself, if you will not spare us! 
Spare Carthage, if you will not spare yourself! Spare 
the province, which the sight of your purpose has 
rendered liable to violent extortion at the hands of 
the soldiery and of one’s private enemies”). Adv. 
Marc., iii. 20: ‘* Aspice universas nationes de vora- 
gine erroris humani exinde emergentes ad deum 
creatorem, ad deum Christum . . . . Christus totum 
iam orbem evangelii sui fide cepit” (‘* Look at whole 
nations emerging from the whirlpool of error, to God 
their creator, to Christ as God... . Christ has 
now won the whole round world by the faith of 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 157 


his gospel”). De fuga xi.: “ Numquam usque 
adhue ex Christianis tale aliquid prospectum est sub 
aliqua redemptione capitis et sectae redigendis, cum 
tantae multitudinis nemini ignotae fructus ingens 
meti posset” (‘* Up to the present moment no such 
gain has ever been made out of any purchase-money 
paid for a Christian’s person and sect, though a rich 
harvest could be reaped from their vast numbers, 
which are well known to everybody”). Adv. 
Judwos vii.: “In quem alium universae gentes 
erediderunt nisi in Christum, qui iam venit? [Then 
follows Acts ii. 9 f.] et ceterae gentes, ut iam 
Getulorum varietates, et Maurorum multi fines, 
Hispaniarum omnes termini, et Galliarum diversae 
nationes, et Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca, 
Christo vero subdita, et Sarmatarum, et Dacorum, 
et Germanorum, et Scytharum, et abditarum mult- 
arum gentium et provinciarum et insularum multarum 
nobis ignotarum, et quae enumerare minus pos- 
sumus ” (“On whom else have all the nations of the 
world believed, but on the Christ who has already 
come? ... . with others as well, as different races 
of the Gaetuli, many tribes of the Mauri, all the 
confines of Spain, and various tribes of Gaul, with 
places in Britain which, though inaccessible to Rome, 
have yielded to Christ. Add the Sarmatz, the 
Daci, the Germans, the Scythians, and many remote 
peoples, provinces, and islands unknown to us, which 
we are unable to go over ”).' 


1 See also Hippol., Philos., x. 34: towdros 6 rept TO Oetov adyOys 
Abyos, & avOpwror“EAAnves Te kal BdpBapor, Xaddatot re Kat Agovptot, 
Aiytrrvol re Kal AvBvés, IvSol re kai Aidfores, KeAtid te Kai ot otpary- 
yoovres Aarivor, wavtes Te of THY Bipwrnv, Aciav re kal AuBinv Katou 


158 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


§ 21. Cecilius, in Minut. Felix ix.: “Ac iam, ut 
fecundius nequiora proveniunt, serpentibus in dies 
perditis moribus per universum orbem sacraria ista 
taeterrima impiae coitionis adolescunt ” (* And as the 
fouler a thing is, the faster it ripens, while dissolute 
morals glide on day by day all over the world, those 
loathsome rites of an impious assembly are matur- 
ing”); also Octavius in xxxi.: “Et quod in dies 
nostri numerus augetur, non est crimen erroris sed 
testimonium laudis” (‘That our numbers increase 
daily is a reason, not for charging us with error, but 
for bearing witness to us with praise”); xxxii.: ‘ Nec 
nobis de nostra frequentia blandiamur: multi nobis 
videmur, sed deo admodum pauci sumus” (* Nor let 
us flatter ourselves about our numbers. We seem 
many to our own eyes, but in God's sight we are still 
few ”). 

§22a. Origen, im Matt. comment., series 39 
(Lommatzsch, iv., pp. 209 f.) on Matt. xxiv. 9 
(‘et praedicabitur hoc evangelium regni in universo 
orbe, in testimonium omnibus gentibus, et tune 
veniet finis): si discutere quis velit, quod ait 
‘omnibus gentibus,’ satis inveniet certum, quoniam 
omnibus etiam in ultimis partibus terrae commor- 
antibus gentibus odio habetur populus Christi, nisi 
forte et hic aliquis dicat propter exaggerationem 
positum ‘omnibus’ pro ‘multis’ . .. . et in hoe 
statu constitutis rebus (sec. in the last days) evan- 
gelium quod prius non fuerat praedicatum in toto 


xoovtes (“Such is the true word regarding God, O ye Greeks and 

barbarians, Chaldeans and Assyrians, Egyptians and Libyans, Indians , 
and Ethiopians, Celts and warrior Latins, all ye inhabitants of 

Europe, Asia, and Libya’). 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 159 


mundo—multi enim non solum barbararum, sed 
etiam nostrarum gentium usque hune non audierunt 
Christianitatis verbum—tune autem praedicabitur, ut 
omnis gens evangelicam audiat praedicationem, et 
nemo derelinquatur qui non audivit, et tunc erit 
saeculi finis . . . . nondum enim multi proditores de 
ecclesia facti sunt, et nondum multi falsi prophetae 
exstiterunt multos fallentes: sic et nondum odio 
habiti sunt ab omnibus gentibus etiam in ultimis 
partibus terrae habitantibus, propter nomen Christi: 
sic et nondum est praedicatum evangelium regni in 
toto orbe. non enim fertur praedicatum esse 
evangelium apud omnes Ethiopas, maxime apud eos, 
qui sunt ultra flumen ; sed nec apud Seras nec apud 
Ariacin” [Orientem, edd., but he probably means 
’Apiaxy, a region on the western coast of India] 
audierunt Christianitatis sermonem. quid autem 
dicamus de Britannis aut Germanis, qui sunt circa 
oceanum, vel apud barbaros, Dacos et Sarmatas et 
Scythas, quorum plurimi nondum audierunt evangeli 
verbum, audituri sunt autem in ipsa saeculi con- 
summatione. adspice enim quod ait: ‘et praedicabitur 
hoc evangelium regni in toto orbe, in testimonium 
omnibus gentibus, et tune erit finis.’ si autem vult 
quis temere dicere, praedicatum iam esse evangelium 
regni in toto orbe in testimonium omnibus gentibus, 
consequenter dicere poterit et quod ait ‘tunc erit 
finis,’ iam finem venisse: quod dicere temeritatis est 
magnae” (“ And this gospel of the kingdom shall be 
preached in all the world, for a testimony to all 
nations, and then shall the end come.” “If anyone 
wishes to discuss the meaning of ‘all nations’ in this 
passage, he will find it quite clear and sure, since the 


160 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


people of Christ are hated by all nations, even by 
those dwelling in the uttermost parts of the earth. 
Unless, it may be, one declares that here too ‘all’ is 
put for ‘many’ by way of hyperbole. ... Such 
being the position of affairs [7.e. at the end], the 
gospel, which formerly had not been preached in all 
the world—for many people, not only barbarians but 
even of our empire, have not yet heard the word 
of Christ—this gospel will then be proclaimed, so 
that every race may hear the evangel, leaving none 
who fails to hear it. And thereafter the end will 
come. ... For many traitors have not yet arisen 
from the church. Many false prophets have not yet 
arisen to deceive many. Nor yet have all the nations 
dwelling in the uttermost parts of the earth hated us 
for the sake of Christ’s name; nor yet has the gospel 
of the kingdom been preached in all the world. For 
we are not told that the gospel has been preached 
among all the Ethiopians, particularly among those 
who are on the other side of the River; nor among 
the Sere, nor in Ariace, has the tale of Christ been 
heard. But what shall we say of Britain or Germany, 
on the seaboard, or the barbarians, the Dacians, the 
Sarmate, and the Scythians, most of whom have 
not yet heard the gospel, but are to hear it at the 
consummation of the ages? For see what he saith. 
‘ And this gospel shall be preached in all the world, for 
a testimony to all nations, and then shall the end be.’ 
If anyone would hastily affirm that the gospel of the 
kingdom had been already preached in all the world 
as a testimony to all nations, he would also be able to 
say, of course, ‘ then shall the end be,’ the end is now 
here. Which would be an exceedingly rash asser- _ 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 161 


tion”). Orig., c. Cels., IIT. xv.: éray radw of ravei 
TpoT dcaBadXovTes Tov Novyou THY alTlay THY ETL TOTOUTO VoV 
oTacews ev TAUOEL THY TiIsTEVOYTwWY VoULTwoW écival, ev TO MH 
TpoaToeneis Oat aUTOUS UTO TOY 1YyOULEVwWY Omolws Tots Tau 
xeovas (* Since those who utter all kinds. of calumny 
against the gospel ascribe the present prevalence of 
sedition to the multitude of believers, and to the 
latter not being persecuted by the authorities, as 
long ago they were”); abid., IIL. xxix.: 6 dé réurbas 
tov Incovv Oeds éxAVcas Tacayv THY Tov damovwy éerBovrARV 
ETOLNTE TavTaXyou THe olKOUMEVNS UTED THS TOV avOpa@mwy 
emir Tpopas Kal SopIacews KpaTyo at TO evayyéALov "Incotd Kat 
yeverOa mavraxov ékKkAnolas avTiToArTevomevas exxAnotas 
deriatmovey Kat akoAXacTwy Kat adikwy [see vol. 1. p. 334]. 
In III. xxx. we read that the presbyters of the 
Christian churches were worthy of holding civic 
offices of authority, ef tis eoriv ev TH TavTi rods TOD 
Qeov (“if there be any such city of God in all the 
world”); VIII. Ixix.: pamev drt, eirep, “ay dvo cumpovaciy 
€€ Ov eT THS YAS Trept TAVTOS T Pay Lar os ov €av alTHTwYTAL 
yevyreTal aUTOIs Tapa TOU év Tots oUpavois TaTPds’’—Ti xp 
vouicew, el [4 LOVOY WS VoV TaVYU OALYyoL TupPwvotev a\X\a Trace 
7 U0 Popnatwy apxyy; ( “We say that ‘if two of us agree 
on earth as touching anything that they ask, it shall 
be done for them by the Father in heaven’; and what 
if not simply a handful of people agree, as at present, 
but the whole Roman empire?”). VIII. lxvii.: zaca 
me Opyrketa KaTadvOnoerat, movn O€ 7 X pir tiavev KpaTHo el, 
ITs Kal movy TOTE KpaTHTEL, TOU NOyoU Get TAElovas vewomevou 
‘Wuyas [ep. vol. i. p. 332]. TLL. vill. : oAvyor cata Kapovs 
Kal opodpa evaplOuyror vmep TIS X pir tiaveov Ocore Betas 
TeOvikacl, Kw\VovTos Oeotd TH TAY exTroAEUNORVaL adT@Y EBVOS 


(‘From time to time a few, who can easily be counted, 
VOL. II. 11 


162 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


died for the sake of the Christian religion, God refus- 
ing to allow the whole people to be exterminated”). 
IIL. x.: 670 mev ody cvyKpicet Tou e&NS aAnOous oNlyou ho av 
apXOMeEvol Xpirtiavot djXov (in reply to Celsus, who had 
declared that the original number of Christians was 
extremely small, Origen observes: “It is patent that 
Christians at first were few in number, compared to 
their subsequent host”). III. ix.: voy pev ovV TAXA, 
Ore Ota TO TWARVOS TOY T PoTEpXoMevey TO NOywH Kal wAOvVoLOL 
Kal Tlves TOV eV akonace Kal ylvaia Ta aBpa Kal evyeva 
amodexovTat Tous amo TOU Noyou, TOAMNTEL TIS Aéyew ova TO 
do€aptov mpotarrac Jat Tivas THs KaTa X pictiavovs OoacKaAdtas 
[ep. vol. 1. p. 436]. In Jn Joh., tom. 1. 1, we read that 
“it is not too bold an assertion to say that the number 
of Jewish Christians does not amount to 144,000” ; 
c. Cels., I. lvii.: “The number of disciples belonging 
to Simon Magus all over the world does not amount 
at present, in my opinion, to thirty. Perhaps that 
is even putting it too high. They only exist in 
Palestine, and indeed only in extremely small 
numbers.” For a passage from Origen, quoted by 
Kusebius (H.£., i. 1), see under § 27. 

§ 228. The pagan (Porphyry) in Macarius Magnes, 
iv. 3: td00 raca THe olKoumerngs pupn TOU evayyeAtou THY 
Teipav exel Kal TEpMoves OXot Kal KOT MOU Tépata TO evay'yeAuov 
dXov KaTtéxovot (“* Behold, every corner of the universe 
has experienced the gospel, and the whole ends and 
bounds of the world are occupied with the gospel ”). 

§ 23. Lucian the Martyr, Orat. (in Rufin, HLE., 
ix. 6): “Quae autem dico, non sunt in obscuro gesta 
loco nec testibus indigent. pars paene mundi iam 
maior huic veritati adstipulatur, urbes integrae, aut 
si in his aliquid suspectum videtur, contestatur de 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 163 


his etiam agrestis manus, ignara figmenti” (“ But the 
matters I refer to did not take place in some hidden 
spot, nor do they lack witnesses. Almost the greater 
part of the world is now devoted to this truth, whole 
cities in fact, and if any of these be suspect, there are 
also multitudes of country folk, who are innocent of 
guile”). 

§ 24. Maximinus Daza’s Rescript to Sabinus (in 
Kuseb., H.l., ix. 9): juika cuveidov cxedov dravras 
: avO porous catadrerp beans TNS TOV Oewy Opnoketas TO €O vet 
TOV Xpirriavey éauTous TUM MEMLXOT AS (Diocletian and 
Maximian issued edicts for the suppression of 
Christianity, “when they saw almost all men desert- 
ing the worship of the gods and attaching themselves 
to the Christian people ”). 

§ 25. lLactantius, de mort. persec. 2: “Et inde 
discipuli qui tunc erant undecim . . . . dispersi sunt 
per omnem terram ad evangelium praedicandum . . 
et per annos xxv. usque ad principium Neroniani 
imperil per omnes provincias et civitates ecclesiae 
fundamenta miserunt. ” “Nero cum anima- 
adverteret non modo Romae sed ubique cotidie 
magnam multitudinem deficere a cultu idolorum et 
ad religionem novam transire ” (“ Thence the disciples, 
who then numbered eleven, scattered over all the 
earth to preach the gospel . . . . and for twenty-five 
years, down to the beginning of Nero’s reign, laid 
the foundation of the church in every province and 
state.” ‘* When Nero noticed that not only at Rome 
but everywhere a large multitude were daily falling 
away from idolatry and coming over to the new 
religion”). 3 (between Trajan and Decius): “ Ut iam 
nullus esset terrarum angulus tam remotus quo non 


164 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


religio dei penetrasset, nulla denique natio tam feris 
moribus vivens, ut non suscepto dei cultu ad iustitiae 
opera mitesceret ” (“There was now no nook or corner 
of the earth so remote that the divine religion had 
not reached it, no nation so rough in life that it was 
not mellowing to works of righteousness by having 
accepted the worship of God”). Cp. Arnobius, i. 5: 
“Tam per omnes terras in tam brevi temporis spatio 
inmensi nominis huius sacramenta diffusa sunt. nulla 
iam natio est tam barbari moris et mansuetudinem 
hesciens, quae non elus amore versa molliverit 
asperitatem suam et in placidos sensus adsumpta 
tranquillitate migraverit” (“The sacraments of this 
great name are now spread all over the earth in 
so short a time. No nation now is so barbarous 
and ignorant of mercy, that it has not been turned 
by this love to modify its harsh ways, and come over 
to a peaceful temper by the acceptance of peace ”). 

§ 26. Constantine’s Rescript to Miltiades (Kus., 
AIE., x. 5) speaks as if the entire population of North 
Africa were divided between the Catholics and the 
Donatists. 

§ 27. Kusebius' (4Z.E., 1. 3. 12): Chnsiiae 
filled the whole world with his holy name. i. 3. 19: 
povoy avTov 6& ATAaVTWY ToY TwTOTE Els ETL Kal VoV Tapa 
Tac avO parrots xkaQ’ OXov TOU KOTMoU X pirtov exipyuicer Oat 
omororyeia Bai Te Kal paptupeta Bat 7 pos aTavTwv emt TH 
Tpornyopte Tapa te “EXAyot cat BapBapors pvnpovever Oat, 


Ay Suan’ sf. a ‘ a Pee ‘ ) , f) A , 
Kal €lG ETL VuUV TANG TOOLS AVA THY OLKOUVMEVAV AVUTOU Oracwrats 


1 We need not do more than set down the most characteristic 
passages out of the large number of relevant sections in the Church 
History. And even these are only given sometimes in as abbreviated 
a form as possible. 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 165 


Tipacba mev ws Baciréa, DavmaCer Bau de uTEep mpopnTny, K.T.A. 
( * He alone of all who ever lived is still called by the 
name of Christ among all men over the whole world ; 
yea, confessed and witnessed to under this title, and 
commemorated by Greeks and barbarians, and even 
to this day he is honoured as a king by his followers 
throughout all the world, admired as Something 
greater than a prophet,” etc.). 1. 4. 2: Tis mev yap 
TOU TWTHPOS Huwv "Tyo00 X proto Tapouclas vewoTl TAaTW 
; avOparrots eTiraurarns, véov o“oAoyoupevas €Ovos, ou [LK pov 
oud aacOeveés oud’ emt yovias mou yis id pumevor, GAXa Kat 
TavTwy Tov €Ovov TohvavOpwroTaTov TE kat QeoceB- 
€GTATOV .... TO Tapa Tois Tact TH TOU Xpirtov ™poon- 
yopia TETULNMEVOY [ cp. vol. 1. p: 314]. lS: ee aiven 
in Christ’s lifetime he was visited by myriads (nvpc0« 
dco) from the remotest lands imploring aid.” ii. 2. 1: 
The resurrection and ascension of Jesus were forth- 
with known to most people (apa mrcloTos), Ul. 4, 2: 
(in the apostolic age) Kal 09 ava Tacas Tas TONE TE Kal 
Kouas, TAnOvoVTns dAwvos diKny, puplav0o pot kat TranmAnOers 
a pows exxAycia cuvertyxecay (“In all the cities and 
villages churches were speedily set up and thronged, 
like.a well-heaped threshing-floor, with multitudes of 
people Pye Ty V3.1 5 Tas: ele ov SMTA OG ALA ’Iyo ob 
Xpirrov ele TavTas av0 pesrous On Oradwomevns TlaTews O TIS 
avOparrwv Trod€éuos cwTnpias THv Bacihevovcay ToAW 7 poap- 
Tacacbat uynxavenevos evTav0a Liyn.eva [Magus] aye (** Faith 
-in Jesus Christ the Saviour having now been spread 
abroad among all men, the enemy of man’s salvation, 
plotting to secure the imperial city for himself, 
brought Simon thither”) ; but Simon’s sect was soon 
vanquished, nor did it survive the apostolic age 
(Tovs arogToNtKovs xpdvous, ii. 14. 8), for the Logos 


166 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


prevailed, “having lately shone upon men from 
God and now waxing strong on earth” (6 ape GeoGev 
avO parrots emriAaurbas, autos TE emt vis ak uaCw), lil, 1. abe 
[after Origen’s Eweg. in Gen., tom. i.]: Tey lepov 
TOU TWTHPOS MOV amoctoAwy Te Kat pwabytav ed)’ dmracay 
KAT AT TapevTwv THY OLKOUMEVHYs OBwuas ev, ws 7 Tapaooats 
TEpleX El, THY Tlap@iay elAnXeV, A vdpéas oe tHv YkvOar, 
Twaveys tH ’Actay (“The holy apostles and disciples of 
our Saviour were scattered abroad over all the world, 
Parthia, as tradition has it, being assigned to Thomas, 
Scythia to Andrew, Asia to John”); then follow 
remarks upon the missionary spheres of Peter and 
Paul, based on the New Testament; ep. also iii. 5. 2, 
where the original apostles start from Jerusalem for 
all the nations («is cvuravta ta vy), to the ends of the 
earth (es Ta wépata THs olkoumervys, I. 8. 11), or to 
all the world (émi wacav tv otkoumévny, lil. 24. 38). 
im, 18, 4f.¢ (in Domitian’s reign | THIS LET Eas TLOTEWS 
diéAaute OwWacKkaNla, ws Kat Tove amobey tov Ka” mas 
Adyou ouyypapers wy aToKVATAL Tals avTOV isTopias TOV TE 
Oty mov Kat Ta ev AUTO papTupla Tapadovvat (“The teaching 
of our faith so throve then, that even writers who 
were far from our religion did not hesitate to mention 
in their histories this persecution and its martyrdoms,” 
e.g., of Domitilla). ii. 87. 1 f.: the evangelists who 
succeeded the apostles “built up the foundations of 
the churches which had been laid in all quarters by 
the apostles” (Tovs kaTa TayTa TOTOY TWY éxKAnTLOV TPO-- 
kataBbAnOévras id Tay arocToAwy Oenetous ém@Koddmour), 
preaching the gospel “to those who had not yet heard 
the word of faith” (rots ér: TaTay avyKoots TOU THs 
mistews Noyov), iv. 2. 1: [in Trajan’s reign] Ta Tis 


al ~ I 4 A lA A ’ , 4 y 
TOV TWTNPOS HMw dwacKkaANlas Te Kal exKkAnolas OonLepat 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 167 


avOovvra ei peiCov Ey wet mpoxoTns (‘The affairs of our 
Saviour’s teaching and church flourished daily and 
made steady advances”). iv 7. 1: [in Hadrian’s 
reign] On aut poTatwy Olkny pwotypwv Tov ava Tév oikov- 
pmevny aTooTiABoucey éxkAnoTLOm axmaCovons Te els diay TO 
TOV avO pare ryévos The els TOV Twrnpa Kat KUPLOV nuov 1, X, 
mistews, k.T.A. (“The churches shining throughout the 
world were now like the most brilliant constellations, 
and faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 
was flourishing among all the human race”; cp. 13). 
~v. 21. 1: xara rov tas Kopodov Bacirelas ypovoy pereBe- 
/rnTo whey ETL TO 7 paov Ta Ka0 nuas, elonuns ou beta Xapere 
ras Kal’ OAS THs ofkoumevyns dStaraBovons éxKAnolas, STE Kat O 
TWTIOLOS Adyos eK TaVvTOs ryévous avOpobroy Tacay UTNYETO 
Wuxny emt THy evoe 3 TOU Tov bAwY Oeod Opnckeiay, ore 70n 
cat Tov ert ‘Pauns 6d uadra TrAOVTH Kal yéver Oradavev m)etous 
em THY opav OMOcE Xopety Tavoul Te Kal Tayyern cwTnplay 
(* About the time of the reign of Commodus our 
affairs changed for the better, and by God’s grace 
the churches all over the world enjoyed peace. 
Meanwhile the word of salvation was conducting 
every soul from every race of man to the devout 
worship of the God of all things, so that a large 
number of people at Rome, eminent for great wealth 
and high birth, turned to their salvation along with 
all their households and families”). v. 23. 1: tis’ Acias 
amaons at Tapouctat Lee OE GVA THY NOLTHY ATacay olKOUMErHY 
excAnotat (“The parishes of all Asia . . . . the churches 
all over the rest of the world”). vi. 36. 1: [in the 
reign of Philip the Arabian] tore djra, ofa cai eikos 
WY, TAnQvovens THs TleTEWs, TET AP PNT LAT LEVOU Te Tov Kal’ nuas 
Tapa wart Noyou, k.7.r. (“Then indeed, as was only fitting, 
when the faith was increasing, and our doctrine being 


168 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


confidently proclaimed to all men,” ete.). vu. 10. 3: 
mas Te O Oikos avTOU DeoceBav TET AN PWT O Kat Hv exkAynoia Oeod 
(before Valerian turned persecutor, he had been more 
friendly to the church than any previous emperor, 
“and his whole house had been filled with pious 
persons, being a very church of God”). vii. 1. 1 f.: 
oons mev Kal O7rolas T po Tov xaQ? nuas dwwy ou [the Dio- 
cletian persecution | dogys Omou Kal Tappyatas 6 SSRs 
evoeDelas Novos Tapa Tac avOparrots, "E\Anot Te Kat Bap- 
Papo 7ELWTO, pci Cov 7 Kal’ yuas eTraelog dunynoad Oat " 

TOs o ay als; dvaypanvere Tas pupraydpous exelvas eTisuvaywyas 
kat Ta wANOn TOY KaTa Tacay TOAW aOpoirmaror, Tas TE 
ETON [LOUS ev TOS TT porevKTNpLOLs Tuvdpomas 5 ov on eveka 
pnoaas Tt Toles TaAat olKodomAmacW apKoupevoe evpelas Els 
TAaTOs ava Tracas Tas ToAes ex Oeuerioy avicrwy éxKAn- 
cias; (“It is beyond our power to describe in any 
adequate fashion the scope and character of the 
glory and open freedom with which, previous to this 
persecution of ours, the... . word of piety was 
honoured among all men, Greeks and barbarians alike. 
. . . How can any one depict those vast gatherings 
of people, the crowds that assembled in every city, 
and the famous convocations held in the places of 
prayer? So great were these, that, dissatisfied with 
the old buildings, the people now proceeded to erect 
churches from the foundation upwards in all the 
cities”). vill. 14. 1: Maxentius started as though he 
would profess our faith, “in order to please and 
flatter the people of Rome” (é7 apeckeia kat KkoXaxeta 
Tov djpou'Popaiwy), i, 4, 2 (see above): the Christians 
are now the most populous nation in the world.’— 


1 In conclusion, we may set down this further passage from 
Firmic. Matern. de err. prof. relig. xx., although it was written about 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 169 


Theophan., v. 26: “(The disciples) should teach His 
commandments both in the villages and cities, some 
of them to the Roman power (itself), and so apportion 
to themselves this city of the empire, others also to 
the Persians, others to those among the Armenians, 
others to the nation of the Parthians, and again to that 
also of Scythians, (that) some of these should go forth, 
even as far as the extremities of the creation, and 
arrive at the country of the Hindoos, others pass over 
to the Islands beyond the ocean, and which are called 
Britain ” (ep. Demonstr. evang., p. 112 c).—Op. cit., 
v. 49 (on the apostles): “ Nevertheless, when again 
I view its power and the result of its doings, how 
the many myriads have given their assent to it, and 
how churches of tens of thousands of men have been 
brought together by these very deficient and rustic 
persons—nor that these were built in obscure places, 
nor in those which are unknown, but rather in the 
greatest cities, I say in the Imperial city of Rome 
itself, in Alexandria, in Antioch, in all Egypt, in 
Libya, in Europe, in Asia, both in the villages and 
(other) places and among all nations—I am again 
compelled to recur to the question of its cause, and to 
twenty years after the council of Nicaea: “Quis locus in terra est, 
quem non Christi possederit nomen? qua sol oritur, qua occidit, 
qua erigitur septemtrion, qua vergit auster, totum venerandi 
numinis maiestas implevit, et licet adhuc in quibusdam regionibus 
idololatriae morientia palpitent membra, tamen in eo res est ut 
a Christianis omnibus terris pestiferuam hoc malum_ funditus 
amputetur” (“What spot is there upon earth, which is not held by 
the name of Christ? Where the sun rises and sets, in every quarter 
of the globe, the glory of his honourable heavenly majesty has filled 
creation. And although the dying limbs of idolatry still quiver in 


some countries, this deadly evil is to be cut off by Christians in 


every land”’). 


170 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


confess that they could not otherwise have under- 
taken this enterprise, than by a Divine power which 
exceeds that of man and by the assistance of Him 
who said to them: Go and make disciples of all 
nations in my name.” 

The passages printed in the collection of evidence 
are not of equal value, and a brief commentary may 
serve to elucidate their bearing. 

Once the mission to the Gentiles had become a fact, 
thanks to Paul and some others (but against the 
primitive aim as expressed in Matt. x. 5 f.), “the 
whole world ” must have been forthwith regarded as 
a sphere for Christian missions. Once the circle had 
been extended beyond Israel, no limit could be set 
to its sweep. To complete the circle with all speed 
was a duty which was urgently pressed home to 
Christians by their firm hope in the near advent of 
Christ and the approaching end of all things. For 
if the first appearance of Christ was a matter of 
moment to all mankind as well as to Israel, then 
all nations must hear of this appearance; while, if 
the end was imminent, the work of the Christian 
mission must be completed very soon. Ere long, 
the amount of work which had really been accom- 
plished got obscured under a fantastic belief (fomented 
by the Christian expectation of the future), to the 
effect that the preaching of the gospel had already 
permeated all the world." What was a deliberate 


1 Are we not to understand the original form of the story of 
Pentecost (in Acts ii.) in some such sense?—as though the end 
might come, now that representatives from all the nations were 
gathered in Jerusalem, and had thus had the gospel brought home 
to them all. 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 171 


rhetorical exaggeration, to begin with, became trans- 
muted into a firm conviction. And this became in 
turn the nucleus of legends relating to the mission, 
legends whose origin lies in the soil to which we 
have just alluded, and whose development, lasting 
as late as the sixteenth century, resulted in every 
country upon earth being gradually allotted a 
mission-history which commenced with the apostles. 
Throughout the West the headquarters of this 

mission were held to have been Rome, ever since 
it became a matter of vital moment to show that 
Peter was the only apostle who reached the West. 
But to write the history of such missionary legends 
would require a whole volume to itself. 

The testimonies collected under §§ 1-4, 6-9, and 11, 
represent the original and ancient conception of the 
early spread of the gospel over all the world. They 
tell us nothing whatever about the actual spread, 
though they certainly bear witness to its energetic 
character. 

§ 1 (Matt. xxiv. 14) contains the general theory 
of the mission, which is put into the life of Jesus: 
“the gospel has to be preached to all the world for 
a testimony to the heathen. Then comes the end.” 
The eschatological picture drawn by the author of 
the Apocalypse (§ 6, Apoc. vil. 9) corresponds to 
this. 

§ 2. The passages from Paul (1 Thess. i. 8, Rom. 
i. 8, Col. i. 6, 23) are deliberate rhetorical exaggera- 
tions; so in § 4 (Acts xvii. 6). 

The passages in §7 (Matt. xxiv. 9, Mark xvi. 8, 
Acts i. 8; Preaching of Peter) and§ 3 (1 Tim. ui. 16, 
quotation from a hymn), affirm that the disciples of 


172 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Jesus, or the apostles, received a commission to go 
into all the world and preach the gospel to all men, 
and that they discharged this commission. This belief, 
that the original apostles had already preached the 
gospel to the whole world, is therefore extremely old ; 
nor, even supposing that Matt. xxvill. 19 is taken as 
an interpolation, need it be put later than c. 90 A.D. 
(cp. Acts i. 8). Both Clemens Romanus (§ 8) and 
Ignatius (§ 9) assume that the gospel has already 
been diffused all over the world, the former speaking, 
with rhetorical exaggeration, of Paulas the missionary 
who had taught all the world. Finally, as the con- 
ception emerges in Hermas (§ 11), it is exceptionally 
clear and definite; and this evidence of Hermas is 
all the more weighty, as he may invariably be taken 
to represent opinions which were widely spread and 
commonly received. On earth, as he puts it, there 
are twelve great peoples, and the gospel has already 
been preached to them all by the apostles.’ 

The actual expansion of the gospel during the first 
century must be deduced from the writings of the 
New ‘Testament and the earliest extra-canonical 
literature. With regard to the intensity of its 
spread, we possess no evidence beyond that of the 
passages cited under § 5 (Acts xxi. 20) and § 10 
(Pliny). These passages, however, are of extreme 
importance. The former testifies that among the 

1 [ shall not enter into any discussion of the legends underlying 
the apocryphal Acts of the Apostles, since it is no longer possible 
to ascertain accurately even the modicum of truth which may 
perhaps serve as their historical kernel. But a few details will be 
discussed elsewhere. The legends regarding the distribution of 


the apostles and their missionary spheres are set forth by Lipsius in 
his Apokr. Apostelgeschichten, i. 1, pp. 11 f. 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 173 


Palestinian Jews, at the time of Paul’s last visit to 
Jerusalem (2.e. during the sixth decade),’ Christians 
were already to be found in tens of thousands. And 
the latter passage yields even richer spoil. It sketches 
the compass and consequences of the Christian propa- 
ganda in Bithynia and Pontus during the reign of 
Trajan, depicting an activity which astounds us and 
which might dispose us to question Pliny’s statements 
—particularly as he had good reasons for exaggerating 
_ the movement,’ in order to dissuade the emperor 
from taking any wholesale, bloody measures for its 
repression. Still, the main points of the governor's 
tale must be correct, and they are quite enough to 
justify the opinion that exceptionally strong tendencies 
were abroad in these provinces which operated in 
favour of a religion like Christianity (see below, Sect. 
III. § 9 in the third chapter of this Book). 

As the statements of Justin (§ 12) and the author 
of the epistle to Diognetus (§ 14) upon the diffusion 
of Christianity are products mainly of the theoretical 
belief that the gospel must have already spread all 
over the earth, they are of no value,’ although the 
evidence of Dial. cxvii. may perhaps be based on 
some knowledge of the nomadic Arabs having already 
been reached by the message of Christianity. Justin, 


1. To be quite prudent, one has to take this estimate as applying 
to the time when the author of Acts wrote (¢.e. about thirty years 
later), not to the days of Paul. ; 

_ 2 Just in the same way as he probably exaggerated the effects 
produced by the measures to which he had himself resorted. 

’ The figure employed by the author of the epistle to Diognetus, 
who compares Christians in the world to the soul in the body, pre- 
supposes, however, a certain vigour in the expansion of Christianity, 
even although this vigour may have been largely exaggerated. 


174 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


as a native of Samaria, might quite well know about 
these tribes. In any case, the other notice is of some 
importance, viz., that by the age of Justin the Gentile 
Christians already outnumbered the Jewish Christians. 
Still more significant, of course, is the statement of 
pseudo-Clemens Soter, writing about fifteen years 
later, to the effect that the Christians were more 
numerous than the Jews (§ 13). For, even if this 
notice represents a purely subjective estimate, even 
if it holds true in the first instance only of the special 
circle which the author had in view (7.e. Rome), still 
it must remain an illuminating fact that a prominent 
Roman Christian, circa 170 A.p., was under the im- 
pression that the Christians were already superior 
numerically to the Jews. 

The language employed by Celsus (§ 15) serves as 
a welcome corrective of the Christian exaggerations. 
True, Celsus also exaggerates. But he exaggerates 
in an opposite direction. He makes out as if 
Christianity were already in extremis owing to the 
rigour of the imperial regulations under Marcus 
Aurelius. This, of course, is not worth serious 
discussion. Nevertheless, the mere fact that he 
could give vent to such an idea, proves that there 
was no question as-yet of enormous crowds of 
Christians throughout the empire.’ 

The general theory, that the church had already 
spread all over the world, also underlies the assertions 
of Ireneus (§ 17) and Clement of Alexandria (§ 18). 
Nevertheless the statements of the latter author 


1 The statement made by the martyr Papylus before the magistrate 
(§ 16) shows that there were Christians in his day in every province 
and town of Asia. 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 175 


deserve consideration, for he met with many people 
from various quarters, and testifies, moreover, that 
“not a few” philosophers had betaken themselves 
to Christianity. The remarks of Iveneus, again, 
have some weight as regards the churches in Germany 
and among the Celts at any rate—however worthless 
they may be as regards Iberia, etc. On the former 
churches Irenzeus could speak from personal know- 
ledge, and it is they who are meant in his allusions 
_to barbarian tribes who possessed true Christianity, 
although they had not the scriptures in their own 
language. : 

The information given by Polycrates (§ 19), bishop 
of Ephesus, is independent of any theory, so that it 
possesses great value. He testifies that he had come 
to have personal acquaintance with Christians from 
all parts of the world, z.e. of the empire; and this 
was written circa 190 a.D. 

« Already,” exclaims Tertullian (§ 20), “there are 
Christians in almost every township,” or again, in 
language which is somewhat milder but none the 
less highly coloured with exaggeration, “the larger 
number in every township are Christian.” By 197 
A.D. Christianity must have increased extraordinarily 
in Carthage and throughout the proconsular province, 
otherwise Tertullian could never have written as he 
did, nor could he have employed the large numbers 
of Christians without more ado as a menace to the 
pagans. Furthermore, we may believe him when he 
declares that no locality, no quarter of his native city, 
was destitute of Christians, and that they were to be 
found in all ranks of society up to the very highest. 
The substance of the despondent complaints made by 


176 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the heathen about the increase of Christians is thus 
reproduced in the very terms in which they were 
uttered (cp. Cecilius in Min. Felix, § 21, who finds 
church buildings and priests in existence, and who 
therefore must have written a considerable time after 
Tertullian). Christians were to be encountered at 
every turn, and people felt restricted and menaced by 
them in their very homes. ‘Tertullian speaks of “so 
many thousands” (tantis milibus hominum), and this 
would be no exaggeration ; while if Christianity went 
on increasing throughout the following century by 
the same rate of progression in Carthage and the 
proconsular province, the whole district. must have 
been predominantly Christian by the time of Con- 
stantine, so that one can understand how that 
emperor (§ 26) could regard it as substantially a 
Christian country. Cyprian’s activity falls midway 
between Tertullian’s Apology and Constantine, and 
one gets a vivid impression, from his correspondence, 
that the Carthaginian Christians now numbered 
many thousands. Cyprian himself asserts (ep. xx. 2) 
that thousands of ltterae pacis, or “ certificates,” were 
issued daily during the Decian persecution. On the 
other hand, the enumeration of the barbarian tribes 
where Christians were to be found (in adv. Jud. 7) is 
not based upon reliable information, as is quite plain 
from the naive addition of the “many islands un- 
known to us, which we are unable to reckon up” 
(“insularum multarum nobis ignotarum et quae 
enumerare minus possumus ”).! 


1 Nevertheless it is noteworthy that Hippolytus also writes 
(Philosoph., x. 34): tovodtos 6 epi TO Oetov arAnO}S Adyos, & avOpwrror 
"“EAAnves te Kat BdpBapor, Xaddaiot te Kai “Acovpior, Aiyvmrruol Te Kat 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 177 


The evidence of Origen (§ 22a) is all the more 
welcome, as he forms the first and only Christian 
narrator who bears witness to the relative paucity of 
Christians. Indeed, in witnessing (i) to the fact that 
there were still a number of nations within as well as 
without the empire (“‘non solum barbarae, sed etiam 
nostrae ”) to which Christianity had not penetrated, or 
in which only an extremely small fraction of people 
(perhaps the population on the frontiers) had heard 
the gospel,* Origen shakes off the dogmatic theory 
already mentioned; and this is all the more signifi- 
cant, inasmuch as he accepts the legends about 
Thomas having gone to the Parthians, Andrew to 
the Scythians, etc. In the second place (ii) he shows 
that no such thing as an entirely Christian town was 
yet in existence—for such we must take to be the 
meaning of the passage in c. Cels., III. xxx. (though 


AiBves, “Ivdoi te kai AiOlores, KeAroi te kai of otpatnyotvtes Aarivon, 
mavres TE Of THY Hipwrnv “Aciay te cat AiBvny KatoukodvTes, ois oUp- 
BovAos ey yivoua (see above, p. 157). This passage does not prove, 
of course, that there were local Christians in all these districts, but 
it shows how the Christian preacher and author felt he was the 
teacher of all nations, not in an abstract but in quite a concrete 
sense, and how already his eye was fixed on every individual. It 
is Cyprian’s age that furnishes us with our first notice of the number 
of Christians in a Christian community, viz., in that of Rome (Eus., 
H.E., vi. 43). The notice, of course, is indirect, for the Roman 
bishop Cornelius merely states the number of the clergy and the 
number of those supported by the church. 

1 It is instructive to find that among the nations whom he 
mentions in this connection are some to whom Tertullian (doc. cit.) 
declares that Christianity had won its way. Origen, however, does 
not deny that certain individuals out of these nations had heard 
the gospel preached ; besides, adopting a looser way of speaking, 
he writes several times as if Christianity had spread all over the 
world. 

VOL, I, 12 


178 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


it may also be interpreted in a different sense). 
Thirdly (ii), he admits, in controversy with Celsus, 
that when Christians are numbered relatively to the 
citizens of the empire, they are still raw oAlya (* quite 
few in number”), although, compared to their own 
original numbers, they now represent a multitude 
(7An90s). From the large and steady increase of 
Christians (iv) he infers that their religion will in days 
to come supplant all others and rule unrivalled, while 
at the same time (v) he draws attention to the in- 
creasing diffusion of Christianity among the rich, 
among people of good position, and among matrons, 
explaining further (vi), as against Celsus, that Christian 
martyrs were hitherto odtyo Kara Kxapovs Kat orodpa 
evaptOunro.' All these are observations which show 
Origen to very great advantage as compared with 
his predecessors. And even his remarks upon the 
number of Jewish Christians are of weight. Por- 
phyry’s statement is instructive (§ 228), just because 
it reproduces the impression made upon wide 
circles of paganism by the expansion of Christianity. 
Kvidently Christians were to be found in all quarters. 

In the days of Philip the Arabian, Origen had 
stated that there was not yet a single town wholly 
Christian. ‘Two generations later, Lucian the martyr 
mentions whole cities (“‘urbes integrae,” § 23) which 
were Christian.” A Syrian himself, he made this 
statement in Nicomedia, and as a matter of fact we 


! This occurs of course in a polemical connection which made it 
natural for Origen to represent the number of Christian martyrs 
at as small a figure as possible. 

2 Dionysius of Alexandria (in Eus., H.E., vii. 7) had already re- 

marked, with reference to Phrygia and the adjoining provinces, 
that they included “the most populous churches.” 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 179 


know that at the beginning of the fourth century 
there were localities in Asia, Phrygia, and Syria which 
were practically Christian altogether. ‘The impression 
left by the latter provinces upon Lucian’s mind led 
him to declare that “pars paene mundi iam maior” 
belonged to the Christian religion. Note the “ paene.” 
Christians still constituted the smaller half of the 
population in these districts, but in several quarters 
their numbers were already equivalent to one-half. 
_On this point we can credit Lucian’s testimony, while 
at the same time we are bound to distrust Tertullian, 
who had made a similar statement 110 years earlier. 
Lucian’s assertion is also borne out by one passage in 
a rescript of Maximinus Daza (§ 24), who observes, 
in reference to the same districts (viz., Syria and Asia 
Minor), that.“ almost everyone has abandoned belief 
in the gods and attached himself to the Christian 
people.” 

Nothing is to be learned from the statements of 
Lactantius (§ 25), for, as we have seen, both Origen 
and the evidence of the fourth century contradict his 
assertion that Christianity had penetrated to all the 
barbarian tribes by the age of Decius. The observa- 
tions of Eusebius (§ 27), however, deserve some 
further notice. No doubt he neither did nor could 
give a history of the expansion of Christianity, partly 
because he had no sources at his disposal for such a 
task, partly because the dogmatic character of his 
historical conceptions permitted him to describe, not 
a gradual extension, but simply a more inward ex- 
pansion. ‘The apostles, according to Eusebius too, had 
already made Christianity an extensive movement by 
distributing amongst themselves the task of spreading 


180 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


it completely over all the world.*| In fact, Eusebius 
went a step further in this direction. Christ, he held, 
had himself filled the world with his holy name, and 
pipt boot had already come to him from regions 
far remote. In this connection the legend of the 
correspondence between Jesus and Abgar of Edessa 
was of supreme importance to him, since it came in 
as a sort of substitute for the evidence, which other- 
wise was awanting, of Jesus having widened the range 
of his activity far beyond the Jews and Palestine 
(cp. vol. i. pp 83 f.). Down to the reign of Com- 
modus, Eusebius knew of nothing important enough 
to deserve mention in this connection; he contents 
himself with merely repeating over and again how 
numerous and widely spread the Christians were in 
all directions, noting also the entrance of the new 
religion into the Bac:Aevovea 7oAs under Claudius, and 
the attention paid thereto by pagan authors under 
Domitian. But for the age of Commodus he was in 
possession of a special contemporary source (con- 
nected perhaps with the Acts of Apollonius); he was 
well aware that the propaganda of Christianity had 
made a remarkable advance during that period, and 
that in Rome especially a large number of prominent 
and wealthy people went over to this religion together 


with all their households and families.” Thereupon, 


1 He does mention evangelists (iii. 37.1 f.) who had preached 
Tois €TL TUpTav avnKOoLS TOV THS TicTews Adyou after the age of the 
apostles; this denotes, however, not lands and peoples’ hitherto 
unreached, but merely such parts of these countries as had not yet 
heard anything of the gospel. __ 

2 This statement is corroborated by the marriage-laws laid down 
by Callistus, bishop of Rome, with reference to matrons (cp. vol. i, 


pp. 211 f.). 


GENERAL EVIDENCE 181 


he singles out two other stages in the growth of the 
propaganda, viz., under Philip the Arabian and 
during the decades immediately preceding the last 
great persecution. As to the latter period, he states 
(in passages which have not been included above) 
that Christians were now to be found occupying 
the chief places of honour at court and in the State, 
not excluding the position of governor, while their 
religion enjoyed high esteem as well as perfect liberty 
- among the Greeks and the barbarians. The number 
of Christians, whom he describes as the most populous 
of all nations, had also become so large that the 
church buildings everywhere were too small, so that 
they had to be pulled down in order to make room 
for new and larger structures. The horizon of 
Kusebius, we must not forget, stretched from Alex- 
andria over Palestine and Syria nearly to Nicomedia, 
and we have already ascertained that these were the 
countries in which Christians were most numerous. 
Of the West and of Rome Eusebius did not know 
much, so that we cannot give absolute credence to 
his assertion that Maxentius was originally favour- 
able to the Christians a order that he might please 
and flatter the Roman populace. All that we know 
of the spread and strength of Christianity in Rome, 
from authentic sources dating from the fourth 
century, renders it utterly improbable that during 
the first decade of that century Christians were so 
“numerous in Rome, or had such control of public 
opinion, that Maxentius was induced to assume for 
a time the mask of favour to their cause. Eusebius 
at this point was availing himself of a pragmatism 
which would apply to the East, but not to Rome. 


182 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


These remarks may cover all the more important 
points suggested by the above collection of passages. 
As for the stages of the mission and its history, the 
outstanding revivals subsequent to the life and labours 
of Paul are denoted by (1) the era of Commodus and 
his immediate successors ; and (2) by the years 260— 
303 a.d. In both of these periods, particularly in the 
latter, it is obvious that a large increase accrued to 
Christianity. It was then also that the erection of 
roomier churches began (Eus., H.2., vii. 1). 


CHAPTER II. 
ON THE INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY. 


Tue inner spread of Christianity comes out primarily 
and pre-eminently in the sense, felt by Christians, of 
their own strength. Evidence of this feeling is fur- 
nished by the zeal they displayed in the extension of 
the faith, by their consciousness of being the people 
of God and of possessing the true religion, as well 
as by their impulse to annex any element of worth 
and value. These factors have been already noticed. 
But the inward expansion of Christianity can be 
verified at other points, and in what follows we shall 
survey its spread (1) among the aristocratic, the 
wealthy, the cultured, and the official classes ; (2) at 
court; (3) in the army ; and (4) among women. 

$1. The spread of Christianity among the aristo- 
cratic, the cultured, the wealthy, and the official classes. 
* You see your calling, brethren,” writes Paul in 1 Cor. 
i. 26-27 ; “not many wise after the flesh, not many 
mighty, not many of noble birth—nay, the foolish 
things of the world has God chosen, that he might 
put the wise to shame; and the weak things of the 
world has God chosen, that he might put the strong 
things to shame; and the base things of the world, 


and things despised, has God chosen, even things 
183 


184 EXPANSION OF: CHRISTIANITY 


that are not, that he might bring to nought the things 
that are, so that no flesh should glory before him.” ’ 
Other evidence, covering the period between the 
primitive age and that of Marcus Aurelius, confirms 
the view that in the contemporary Christian com- 
munities the lower classes, slaves, freedmen, and 
labourers, very largely predominated. Celsus (c. Cels., 
I. xxvu., III. xvim., xhv.; VILL bexv, ete gee 
Cecilius (in Minutius Felix)’ explicitly assert this, 
and the apologists admit the fact.* Even the officials 
of the Christian church frequently belonged to the 
lowest class (see above, vol. i. p. 209). 

Even Paul, however, indicates that some people 
who were wise and mighty and of good birth had 
become Christians. And this is borne out by the 
book of Acts. The proconsul Sergius Paulus was 
brought over to the faith in Cyprus (xii. 7—12),* 
Dionysius the Areopagite in Athens (xvii. 34), and 
“not a few women of good position” in Thessalonica 
(xvu. 4). So with Beroea (xvii. 12). Priscilla, the 
coadjutor of Paul, must also be assigned to the upper 
classes, on account of her pre-eminent culture (see 
below, under § 4); and Pliny informs Trajan that 
“many of all ranks” (multi omni ordinis) in Bithynia 


Origen (c, Cels., III. xlviii.) observes, on this passage: “It is 
possible that these words have led some to suppose that no wise, 
cultured, or intelligent person embraces the Christian faith.” 

* See v. vii., xii; also Lucian’s Peregrin., 12, 13, and Aris- 
tides Rhetor, Oral. 46 (Christians do not occupy seats in the civic 
council). 

3 But they make it out to be an honour to Christianity. 

* See Lightfoot’s article in the Contemporary Review, vol. xxxii. 
(1878), pp. 290 f., Kellner in the Catholik (1888), pp. 389 f., and 


Wendt’s commentary upon Acts, pp. 227 f. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 185 


had gone over to the Christian sect. The epistle 
of James inveighs against hard-hearted Christian 
proprietors, of whom it draws a melancholy sketch, 
complaining also that they are unduly favoured 
even at the services of the church. In Rome a 
distinguished lady (‘insignis femina”), Pomponia 
Grecina, was converted (see below, under § 4), 
followed not long afterwards by the consul ‘Titus 
Flavius Clemens and his wife Domitilla (see under 
§ 2). These and similar results must ere long have 
attracted a large number of adherents to the local 
Christian church from the better classes.‘ Ignatius, 
in his epistle to the Roman church, assumes that it 
was so influential as to have the power of hindering 
his martyrdom, a fear which would have been 
unreasonable had not the church contained members 
whose riches and repute enabled them to intervene 
in this way either by bribery or by the exercise of 
personal influence. The “Shepherd” of Hermas shows 
us that such people did exist at Rome. We read 
there of Roman Christians who are “absorbed in 


1 Dio Cassius relates (Ixvii. 14) that many others, besides 
Clemens and Domitilla, who had apostatized to Jewish customs, 
were condemned by Domitian on the score of “atheism”’; Kai ot 
pev ameavov, ot d€ Tav yotv ovo éotnpynOyoav: 7 de AoputidAdra 
irepwpicby povov <is Ilavdare(peay (“ And some were put to death, 
while others were stripped at least of their property. Domitilla 
was merely banished to Pandetaria”’; ep. Ixviii. 1, where we are 
_ told how Nerva prohibited accusations of atheism and Judaizing). 
_ All these people were evidently Christians, and indeed, to some 
extent at least, people of property. Cp. the inscriptions found in 
the catacomb of Domitilla, and de Rossi in Bullett. (1865), pp. 17 f., 
33 f., 89 fi; (1874), pp. 5 f., 68 f., 122 f.; (1875), pp. 5 f. Even 
Acilius Glabrio, the senator and ex-consul also mentioned by Dio, 
was possibly a Christian. 


186 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


business and wealth and friendship with pagans and 
many other affairs of this world” (€urepupuévoe mpay- 
parelas Kal TAOVTH Kal Girlas EOviKais Kat Gas ToAXats 
TpaywareLats TOU alo@vos TOUTOU, Mand. 2:5 ule and of 
others who “have won riches and renown among 
pagans ” (rAovTHT ATES Kal yevomevol évdoeot Tapa Tols 
' Hermas frequently has occasion to mention 
the rich members of the church, and his reproofs of 
their conduct are severe.” In the appendix to his 
Apology (II. 1.), Justin relates the conversion of a 
prominent Roman lady, and Christianity secured 
men of culture in her apologists. This was con- 
spicuously the case with the best of the so-called 
‘“ onostic” scholars and thinkers. No one can peruse 
the extant fragments of Valentinus without feeling 
moved by the lofty spirit and choice culture of the 
man. And the same holds true of his pupils, 
Ptolemeus and Heracleon, as may be seen from the 
former’s letter to Flora, and the latter’s commentary 
on the gospel of John. Marcion, too, was so well off 
that he could present the church of Rome with 
200,000 sesterces (see above, vol. i. p. 194). 

The age of Commodus marks a distinct stage in 
the movement. Founding on a source which is no 


eOverw). 


1 He continues thus: imepndaviay peydAnv evedicavro Kal tiyo- 

> / \ / ‘ 3 , \ > > , a 

ppoves eyevovto Kal KaréAurov tiv aAnOeav Kal ovK exo\AnOyoay Tots 

Sixatous, GANG peta TOV COvOv cvelnoayv, Kal avtyn 7 600s HdvTépa adTots 

epaivero (“They invested themselves with a mighty pride and 

became high-minded, and abandoned the truth, nor did they cleave 

to the righteous but held intercourse with pagans. Such was the 
path of life which seemed more pleasant to them,’ Svm., viii. 9). 

2 Sim., i.: ti Bde tyets Eroinalere dypods Kai waparagers moAvreAeis 
Kal oikodopas Kal oiknpara para [ep. vol. i. p. 117]; Ves., i. 1. 8, 
ii. 2, iii. 6. 5 f£., iii. 9. 3 f£, iii. 11.3; Mand., viii. 3, xii. 1—23 Sem; 
Ht iVs, Ville 5, 1k, 20,8 4.5 1x. 50, Ach vax. Slat, 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 187 


longer extant (see pp. 180 f.), Eusebius relates how 
the preaching of Christianity spread throughout all 
classes at this period, wore 40n Kat Tov emt ‘“Pouns eo wara 
TOUT Kal ever dvac:pavev aNelous €Tl THY oper OMOTE Xwpety 
TAVOLKL TE Kal Tayyevy TWTNPLAY, This he proceeds to 
illustrate by the case of Apollonius at Rome, who 
belonged at any rate to the upper classes, and indeed 
was in all likelihood a senator." Not much later 
than this, perhaps, we should date the inscription 
from Ostia (see above, p. 41), which proves that 
some members of the gens Annza were Christians, 
and in the same way it is indubitable that a 
number of the Pomponi had died as Christians 
by the close of the second century.’ Tertullian’s 
language’® tallies with this. He narrates how the 
pagans complained of people “of all ranks” (‘* omnis 
dignitatis,” ad nat. i. 1, Apol. i.) going over to 
Christianity, and he himself claims that Christianity 
has gained possession of ‘“ conciliabula, castra ipsa, 
tribus, decurias, palatiwm, senatum, forum” [ep. 
above, p. 155]; also ad Scap., iv._v.: ‘Tot viri ac 
feminae omnis dignitatis . . . . contubernales suos 
illic unusquisque cognoscet, videbit illic fortasse et tui 
ordinis viros et matronas et principales quasque personas 


¥ Cp. on this Klette, Texte u. Unters., xv., Heft 2, pp. 50 f., and 
Neumann (op. cit.), p. 80. Pseudo-Linus 3 presupposes the con- 
version of senators under Commodus: “Innotuerant hoc eis celeri 
nuntio qui fuerant ex senatoribus illuminati.” 

* See de Rossi, Rom. sott., ii. tab. 49/50, Nos. 22, 27, and tab, 41, 
No. 48. 

3 Tertullian himself was a distinguished lawyer in Rome before 
he became a Christian (Eus., H.E., ii. 4). There is nothing, in my 
judgment, to upset the hypothesis that he is the lawyer whose 
works are quoted in the Digests. 


188 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


et amicorum tuorum vel propinquos vel amicos. .. . 
Clarissimi viri et clarissimae feminae” (translated 
above on p. 156).' Similar testimony is borne by 
Clement and Origen. The former devoted a special 
treatise to the problem, “ quis dives salvetur,” and 
the volume discusses, not rich people who require 
conversion, but those who are Christians already.’ 
Origen tells the same tale.’ If it had been possible 
at an earlier period to declare that Christians held no 
offices, and that they had no seats on a civie council, 
if they could be charged once upon a time with 
‘‘barrenness in practical affairs” (‘‘infructuositas in 
negotiis ”) and ‘‘ most contemptible indolence ” (‘ con- 
temptissima inertia”), the day for such reproaches had 
passed, by the middle of the third century. Through- 
out the larger churches many Christians were to be 
found who, by birth or wealth, belonged to good 
society ; people who had so much to lose, that a 
persecution was a doubly severe test of faith, as both 


1 Clement (Strom., vi. 18. 167) asserts that not a few philos- 
ophers had already turned Christians ; and it must also be read as 
a sign of the times, when we find the governor of Arabia asking 
the prefect of Egypt to send Origen to him that he might listen 
to his lectures (Eus., H.E., vi. 19). Compare the introduction to 
pseudo-Justin’s “ Address to the Greeks,” in the Syriac edition, 
which describes the author as “ Ambrosius, a high dignitary of 
Greece, who has become a Christian,’ and tells how his “ fellow- 
senators” had raised a protest against him. 

2 Cp. ii. f. The Paedagogus also shows that the church, for 
which its instructions were designed, embraced a large number of 
cultured people. 

3 ¢. Cels., III. ix.: viv pev otv taxa, ote dua TO 7tAROOS TGV Tpoo- 
epxopevov TO AdY Kat TAOVCLOL Kai TWes TOV ev aElwmact Kal yuvata TA 
GBpa kat evyevA arodéxovrat Tods ard Tod Adyov, ToApHoE Tis A€yetv Bra 
70 dokdpiov mpoictacbai twas THs Kata Xpiotiavors didacKkadias ; [ep. 
vol, i. p. 436]; see also IT. Ixxix. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 189 


Cyprian’ and Eusebius’ recognize. The civil service, 
too, was widely permeated by Christianity. The 
“Octavius” of Minutius Felix plunges us into that 
circle even thus early in the history of the faith, 
while the second rescript issued by Valerian in 258 
against the Christians takes notice of none but the 
upper classes and the members of Czsar’s household, 
outside the clergy (Cypr., ep. Ixxx. 1: “Ut senatores 
et egregii viri et equites Romani dignitate amissa 
etiam bonis spolientur et si adempti facultatibus 
Christiani esse perseveraverint, capite quoque mul- 
tentur, matronae ademptis bonis in exilium relegentur, 
Caesariani autem .... confiscentur et vincti in Caes- 
arianas possessiones descripti mittantur ” = “ Senators 
and prominent men and Roman knights are to 
lose their position, and moreover be stripped of their 
property; if they still persist in being Christians 
after their goods have been taken from them, they 
are to be beheaded. Matrons are to be deprived 
of their property and banished into exile. But 


1! In de lapsis vi., however, he draws a repulsive picture of the 
entirely secular life of the rich Christians. 

2 Eus., H.E., viii. 9: eEarpérws éxetvor POavpacwirepor, ot ovTw 
pev kal evyeveia Kal d6), Adyw te Kal dirocodia diarpépavtes TwavTa 
ye pay Sevrepa Oduevor tis... . miotews (“Still more wonderful 
were those who, though conspicuous for their wealth, birth, and 
high position, and though eminent in learning and philosophy, yet 
ranked everything second to their faith’). Even by the time that 
_the Decian persecution broke out in Alexandria, there were many 
local Christians among the leading people and officials of the city ; 
ep. Dionys. Alex. in Eus., H.E., vi. 41. 11: rodAol pev etOéws trav 
repipavectépwv of pev arnvtwv Syd.otes, ot dé Snyoorevovtes id Tov 
tpdéewv jnyovro (“And many of the more eminent people came 
forward at once in terror, while others, in government service, were 
induced by their public duties’), 


190 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


members of Czsar’s household are to have their 
goods confiscated and be sent in chains by appoint- 
ment to the estates of Cesar”). This rescript shows, 
more clearly than any single passage’ could, the 
extent to which Christianity had already spread 
among the upper classes. From these classes sprung 
bishops like Cyprian, Dionysius of Alexandria, Ana- 
tolius, and Paul of Samosata, whose demeanour was 
that of prominent statesmen—Paul of Samosata, more- 
over, discharging the duties of a ducenarius in addition 
to his episcopal functions. Dionysius enumerates (in 
Kus., H.£E., vii. 11. 18), among the things he suffered 
for Christianity in the reign of Decius, “ Sentences, 
confiscations, proscriptions, seizure of goods, loss of 
dignities, contempt of worldly glory, scorn of praise 
from governors and councillors” (aroadceis, dyuetoers, 
Tpoypaas, UTAPXOVT OV apTayas, akiouarov atobécets, Odense : 
KOO ALKNG oAryopias, ETALVOY YVEMOVIK@Y kat BouAevTiKoV KaTa-' 
ppovnces). Anatolius laboured as a statesman in 
Alexandria, and was a member of the local city 
council (Kus., H.£., vii. 32). 

Kusebius (H.#., vii. 1) gives us the position of 
matters in the reign of Diocletian (7.e. down to 
303 a.p.) as follows: ‘“ The emperors,’ he says, 


1 Cp., e.g., the tale of Astyrius, who belonged to the senatorial 
order, in Eus., H.E., vii. 16 f. 

2 On this bishop see Gomperz in Anz. d. k. Wiener Akad., 
Phil.-Hist., Klasse (1901), No. vii. 2. Another Christian, Eusebius 
by name, who afterwards became bishop of Laodicea, also played 
a political réle at Alexandria during this period (Kus., H.E., vii. 
32). Compare the descriptions of bishop Phileas of Thmuis (viii. 
9): dvarpéas avip tais Kata THv Tatpida woAuTElats Te Kal evToupyiats 
(“A man eminent for his patriotism and the services he had 
rendered to his country ’’). 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 191 


“even trusted our members with provinces to govern 
(Tas Tov eOvev ryeunovias) and discharged them from the 
duty of offering sacrifice.”' Unfortunately Eusebius 
has not told us what provinces were committed to 
Christian governors, just as he fails to mention (in 
vill. 11)” the name of that town in Phrygia whose 
entire population, including officials, were Christians. 
Only two Christians of high position are mentioned 
by him, viz., Philoromus in Alexandria,’ and a certain 
Adauctus.* 


1 The latter fact has not even yet been properly weighed in 
any estimate of the situation previous to Constantine. It resembles 
a recognition of Christianity along administrative lines. 

® This valuable paragraph runs as follows: Havdénuel ravres ot TH 
moAw oikodvres, AoyuoTys Te adTOs Kal OTpaTnyos abv Tots ev TEAEL TAL 
Kai CAw Onpuw Xpirtiavors opas dporoyodtvres ovd StwaTLody Tots Tpoc- 
Tattovew cidwdoAatpeiv ereiOapyow (“ All the inhabitants of the 
city, together with the mayor, the governor, and all who held office, 
and the entire populace to boot, confessed themselves Christians, 
nor would they obey in the least those who bade them worship 
idols’’), 

3 viii. 9: Piidpwpos apynv twa ov Ti Tvxodcay THs Kat AXeEdvdpecav 
BacrrrKys diorxjoews eyKexerpirpevos, OS peTa TOD agwwdpaTos Kal THS 
‘Pwpaikns tynqs t7d otpatidtats Sopvpopovpevos ExdoTns avexpivero 
ypepas ( Philoromus held a high position in the imperial govern- 
ment of Alexandria, and dispensed justice daily, attended by 
soldiers, as befitted his dignity and Roman post of honour’’). 

4 viii, 11: Kal tis érepos “Pwpaixis a&ias érerdnppeévos, “Adavktos 
dvopa, yévos Tov map “Iradois éeriojpwv, dia raons SieAOov avijp Tis 
mapa Bactredor TipAs, ws Kal Tas Kabdrov SdioLKHoELS THS Tap adTots 
Kadovperyns payioTedTynTOs Te Kal KaboAtKOTyTOS apéuTTTus SieAOeiv, K.T.Ar. 
(“ And there was another Roman dignitary, called Adauctus, sprung 
from a noble Italian house, who had passed through every place of 
honour under the emperors, so that he had blamelessly filled the 
general offices of the magistracy, as it is called, and of minister of 
finance ’’).—Dorymedon was a member of the civic council in 
Synnada (ep. Acta Dorym.), and Dativus is described as a senator 
in the African Acta Sat. et Dativi (cp. Ruinart, op. cil. p. 417). 


192 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


We can see then how even before Constantine the 
Christian religion had made its way into the govern- 
ment service,’ just as it had found an entrance, thanks 
to Clement and Origen, into the world of learning. 
This is indirectly certified by Porphyry as well, and 
Arnobius writes (ii. 5) thus: “Tam magnis ingeniis 
praediti oratores, grammatici, rhetores, consulti juris 
ac medici, philosophiae etiam secreta rimantes magis- 
teria haec expetunt spretis quibus paulo ante fidebant ” 
(“ Orators of such high endowments, scholars, rhetori- 
cians, lawyers, and doctors, these, too, pry into the 
secrets of this philosophy, discarding what a little 
before they relied upon”). 

§ 2. The spread of Christianity at court. Let me 
preface this section with a brief reference to the Jews 
at the imperial court.” We find them there even in 
the days of Augustus ; indeed, inscriptions tell us that 
they were so numerous as to possess a synagogue of 
their own.’ As we read inscriptions of Jewesses at 
Rome called Flavia Antonina, Aurelia, and Faustina, 
or of Jews called Aurelius, Claudius, and Julianus, 
it is natural to conjecture that they included many 
slaves or freedmen from the court, or their descend- 


1 For Christians who took the office of flamen, see the fifty-sixth 
canon of Elvira, and Duchesne’s Le concile d’Elvire et les flamines 
chrétiens. 

2 Cp. v. Engestrém’s Om Judarne i Rom. undre iildre tider och 
deras katakomber (Upsala, 1876). 

3 Suvaywy? Avyovoryciwy: CIGr., 9902, 9903; ep. Fiorelli’s 
Catalogo del Museo Nazionale, Iscriz. Lat., 1956, 1960; Orelli, 3222 
= Garucci, Dissertas. ii. 162. 12. Engestrém, Nos. 3, 4, p. 31. 
Besides this, there was a ocvvaywyi ‘Aypurmnoiwv in Rome (C1Gr., 
9907 ; Engestrém, No. 2, p. 31), connected, probably, with Agrippa, 
the friend of Augustus. For other Jewish synagogues in Rome, 
consult Engestrém, 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 193 


ants.‘ And they had great influence. It was through 
the good offices of Alityrus, the Jewish actor, who was 
a great favourite with Nero, that Josephus was pre- 
sented to the empress Poppzea in Puteoli, and obtained, 
by her help, the liberation of some Jewish priests 
(Joseph., Vita in.). The queen herself seems in fact 
to have been a kind of proselyte (Jos., Antig., xx. 8. 
11). As has been already observed (vol. 1. p. 66), the 
Jews were probably the instigators of the Neronian 
outburst against the Christians ; the Samaritan Thallus, 
a freedman of Tiberius, was able to lend the Jewish 
king, Herod Agrippa, a million denarii;’ the rela- 
tions between the Herodians and the emperors of the 
Julian and Claudian dynasties were close ;* and so 
on. Previous to the great war, there were certainly 
a number of ties between the Palestinian Jews and 
the imperial court, although in the subsequent course 
of centuries they must have become fewer, and finally 
disappeared altogether. Neither then nor afterwards 


1 Flavia Antonina: Engestrém, No. 3. Quintus Claudius 
Synesius, No. 8; Annianus, son of Julianus, No. 9; Julianus, son 
of Julianus, No. 10; Lucina, No. 16; Lucilla, No. 44; Alexander, 
son of Alexander, No. 18; Valerius, husband of Lucretia Faustina, 
No. 19; Gaius, No. 24; Julia, No. 27; Alexander, No. 34; Aurelia 
Camerina, No. 35; Aurelius Joses, husband of Aurelia Anguria, 
No. 36; Aelia Alexandrina, daughter of Aelia Septima, No. 37; 
Flavia Dativa Flaviae, No. 38; Marcella, No. 41. On the Jews 
at the imperial court, see Rénan’s Antéchrist, p. 9 n. 2, pp. 125 f. 
(German ed.), Eng. trans., pp. 4 f., 62 f. 
~ 2 Jos., Antig., xviii. 6. 4. For the court intrigues of Acme, the 
Jewish slave-girl of the emperor Livia, see Antiq., xvii. 5. 7 f., Bell. 
Jud., i. 32. 6 f. 

3 Caracalla is reported to have had a Christian wet-nurse 
(“lacte Christiano,’ ad Scap. iv.), and a Jewish playmate (Spart., 
Caracall., i.). 

VOL. 11. 13 


194 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


had they any direct bearing upon the connection of 
Christians and the court. 

This latter connection has been overgrown by a 
luxuriant tangle of legend and romance. Peter and 
Paul are said to have stood before Nero,’ while John 
was condemned by Domitian in person, and dozens 
of their contemporaries at the imperial court are 
alleged to have become Christians. All this we must 
simply ignore. More serious attention perhaps should 


1 So the Acta Petri et Pauli (Rénan’s Antéchrist, ibid.) ; ep. especially 
ce. 31. 36 f., 84. The legend takes many forms in many writers 
(see also the pseudo-Clementine literature, which, in its extant 
shape, does not perhaps belong to an earlier period than the 
opening of the fourth century), and somewhere in the course of 
the sixth century it was finally shaped in the Acta Pseudo-Lini and 
the Acta Ner. et Achill. In the first book of the former Acts, Nero 
is only mentioned incidentally, but many noble ladies are described 
as converted, including four concubines of the prefect Agrippa 
(Agrippina, Eucharia, Euphemia, Dionis), and Xandippe. the wife 
of Albinus, “ Caesaris amicissimi.”’ According to book II., however, 
the preaching of Christianity proved far more efficacious: “ Paul 
was visited by a mighty concourse from the imperial household, 
who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. . . . And besides, the 
instructor of the emperor [7.e. Seneca] was closely knit to him by 
ties of friendship, recognizing that he possessed the mind of God” 
(*Coneursus quoque multus de domo Caesarii fiebat ad Paulum, 
credentium in dominum Jesum Christum . .. . sed et institutor 
imperatoris adeo est illi amicitia copulatus, videns in eo divinam 
sententiam’’). A magister Cesaris reads aloud Paul’s writings, and 
many of Nero’s personal retinue (‘ex familiari obsequio Neronis’’) 
follow the apostle. Patroclus, a former page of the emperor, who 
was then “ad vini officium”’ (acting as wine-bearer), becomes a 
Christian. Barnabas, Justus, a certain Paul, Arion Cappadox, 
Festus Galata, are all Christian servants of Nero, while a distin- 
guished lady, named Plantilla, is a friend of Paul. A section of — 
Nero’s court is thus represented as having been Christians. In 
Pseudo-Linus, and still more in the Acta Ner, et Achill., which would 
more aptly be described as Acta Domitillae, many historical names 
of Christians belonging to the second and third centuries (in the 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 195 


be paid to Tertullian’s statement about Tiberius (in 
A pol. v., reproduced in Eus., H.., ii. 2), but in the 
end one is forced to set aside the whole account as 
unauthentic. 

Paul’s epistle to the Philippians closes with these 
words: ao macovTat UMaS TavTes ol aylol, wadiora O€ ol eK 
tijs Kaicapos ockias (iv. 22). This implies that the 
Roman church contained a special group of Christians 
who belonged to the household of the Cesar, people 
who either had had some previous connection with 
the Philippian church or had recently formed a con- 
nection by means of Kpaphroditus, the Philippian 
envoy.’ 

Several years before Philippians was written, Paul 
wrote the epistle to the Romans. Within the ample 


capital and from a wider environment) have been employed, but 
all the allusions to the court are imported, as is shown by the ancient 
martyrologies, which know nothing of such a phase (cp. Achelis in 
Texte u. Unters., xi. 2). It was the historical fact of Clement and 
Domitilla being relatives of Domitian which fired this train of 
fantasy, although, so far as we know, it did not start till the close 
of the second century. Thereafter relatives of the emperor are 
part of the regular stock-in-trade of the apocryphal Acts of Peter 
and Paul (ep. also the Acta Barnabae auctore Marco, c. 23: leBovacaios, 
ovyyevys Nepdvos). Even Livia, Nero’s consort, was reported to 
have been a convert. There is a possibility of several Roman 
Christians, mentioned in the oldest Acta Petri (Vercell.), having 
been historical personalities. In chap. iii. we read: ‘ Dionysius et 
Balbus ab Asia, equites Romani, splendidi viri, et senator nomine 
Demetrius adhaerens Paulo . . . . item de demo Caesaris Cleobius 
et Ifitus et Lysimachus et Aristeus, et duae matronae Berenice et 
‘Filostrate cum presbytero Narcisso.” And in chap. viii.: Marcellus 
senator. 

1 Perhaps they had entertained him, But one must bear in 
mind that the town of Philippi was almost entirely Latin (or Roman), 
and that it would therefore be in intimate relations with the capital 
(ep. Acts xvi. 21), 


196 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


list of greetings in the sixteenth chapter,’ Paul groups 
two sets of people: the Christians belonging to the 
household of Narcissus and those belonging to that of 
Aristobulus (10-11). These Christians must there- 
fore have been members of the households of two 
distinguished men who were not Christians themselves. 
Now, as we know that during the reign of Claudius 
no one in Rome was so powerful and so intimate 
with the emperor as a certain Narcissus, and also that 
a certain Aristobulus (an uncle of Herod the Great) 
was living then at the capital as a confidential friend 
of Claudius, it seems likely that these were the very 
two persons whose households are mentioned here by 


the apostle.® 
At the close of their epistle to Corinth (the so- 


1 Many scholars separate this chapter from the rest of the epistle, 
and take it as a note to Ephesus. But the reasons for such a tour 
de force do not appear to me satisfactory. 

2 Narcissus died in 54/55, and in my opinion Romans was written 
in 53/54 (though the majority of critics put it four or five years 
later), On Narcissus, the freedman and private secretary of Claudius 
(“ab epistulis’’), see Prosopogr., ii. p. 397, and Lightfoot’s Philippians 
(third ed.), p. 173: “As was usual in such cases, his household 
would most probably pass into the hands of the emperor, still, 
however, retaining the name of Narcissus. One member of the 
household apparently is commemorated in an extant inscription ; 
TI. CLAVDIO.SP .F . NARCISSIANO (Murat., p. 1150, 4).” 
See also Hirschfield’s remark in the Beitraége zur alten Geschichte, 
ii, 2, p. 294: “The zpdrepov Napxiooov otcia which passed to the 
emperor (Wilcken’s Ostraka, i. 392 f.), is rightly referred to the 
private secretary of Claudius.” So that the Christians of Czsar’s 
household mentioned in Philippians might be the members of the 
household of Narcissus mentioned in Romans.  Aristobulus was 
still alive, according to Josephus, Antiq., xx. 1. 2), in 45 a.p. at any 
rate, but the year of his death has not been preserved. His 
domestic establishment also may have been transferred to the 
imperial household (see Lightfoot, loc. cit.). 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 197 


called First Epistle of Clement), in 95-96 a.p., the 
Roman Christians explain how they entrusted the 
delivery of the epistle to two seniors who had lived 
blameless lives among them from youth upwards. 
At the latest, then, these men must have become 
Christians by 50 a.p. They were called Claudius 
Ephebus and Valerius Bito, and Lightfoot rightly 
assumes that they were members of the retinue of 
the emperor, as the wife of Claudius (Messalina) be- 
_longed to the gens Valeria. Thus they would be 
among the Christians who sent greetings in Paul’s 
letter to the Philippians.’ 

T. Flavius Clemens and his wife Domitilla, who 
were closely related to Domitian, were certainly 
Christians, and it was as Christians that they were 
punished* in 95-96. Their sons, the presumptive 


1 | pass over the alleged relations between Seneca and Paul and 
their forged correspondence ; nor does it prove anything for our 
present purpose to find that some members of the gens Annza 
subsequently became Christians (see pp. 41, 187). There is no 
warrant for claiming Acte, one of Nero's favourite slaves, as a 
Christian, and it is a matter of really no moment if names (such 
as Onesimus. Stephanus, Phaebe, Crescens, Artemas) occur in this 
environment which also recur in the New Testament. On the 
other hand, we may note, at this point, that the early (though, of 
course, entirely fictitious) dcta Pauli of the second century mention 
a queen Tryphena in Asiatic Antioch, who shows motherly kind- 
ness to the Christian Thecla. She is described, and described 
correctly, as a relative of the emperor; for Tryphena, the consort of 
King Polemon of Asia Minor (in the middle of the first century) 
-was connected with the Emperor Claudius (v. Gutschmidt, heen. 
Museum, 1864, pp. 176 f.). 

2 Dio Cassius, lxvii. 14; Sueton., Domit. 15; Euseb., H.E., iii. 17 ; 
Bruttius, in Eus., H.E., iii. 18. 5. The person, lineage, and place 
of exile of Domitilla are matters of dispute. Perhaps there were 
two Christian Domitillas, both of whom were exiled (?). For her 
lineage see CIL, vi. 1, No. 948, 


198 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


heirs to the throne, were brought up by a Christian 
mother. The contemporary presbyter-bishop of 
Rome, Clement, is in all likelihood different from the 
consul of that name, but nevertheless he may have 
belonged to the royal household. ‘The murderer of 
Domitian, a member of Domitilla’s household, need 
not have been instigated by the church, although he 
is said to have carried out his plot in order to revenge 
his mistress.'. Of his Christianity nothing whatever 
is known. 

The traces in Hermas of Christians at court are 
dim. Hadrian, that inquisitive searcher into all 
manner of novelties (“omnium curiositatum explo- 
rator””), may have busied himself, among other things, 
with the judicial proceedings against Christians, but 
his letter to Servian is probably a forgery (Vopisc., 
Saturn. 8), and the statement that he wished to erect 
a temple to Christ is quite untrustworthy.’ His 
freedman Phlegon, who composed a chronicle of the 
world, perhaps with some assistance from his master, 


1 Suet., Domit., 15.17; Dio Cassius, lxvii. 15-17; Philostr., Vita 
Apoll., viii. 25. 

2 Lamprid, Adler. 43: “Christo templum facere voluit eumque 
inter deos recipere. quod et Hadrianus cogitasse fertur, qui templa 
in omnibus civitatibus sine simulacris iusserat fieri [which is possible], 
quae hodieque idcirco quia non habent numina dicuntur Hadriani, 
quia ille ad hoc parasse dicebatur”’ (“* He wished to erect a temple to 
Christ and to enrol him among the gods—a project which Hadrian 
also is said to have entertained. For that emperor had ordered 
temples without images to be erected in every city, and these are 
to this day called ‘ Hadrian’s,’ since they have no idols, and since 
they are said to have been raised by him for this purpose”), What 
follows may perhaps apply to Alexander rather than to Hadrian. 
The legend originated, it may be, not earlier than the third century, 
as an explanation of the Hadrianic temple nullius dei. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 199 


betrays indeed a superficial acquaintance with the 
life and miracles of Jesus, but he mixes up Christ 
and Peter (Orig., c. Cels., II. xiv.). 

In the proceedings taken against Justin at Rome 
during the early years of M. Aurelius, one of his 
pupils is also implicated, Euelpistus by name. He 
describes himself as an imperial slave (Acta Justine, 
4), so that Christianity had evidently not died out 
among the members of the imperial household. Per- 
haps the Palestine caricature of a crucifix (Mus. 
Kircher) also belongs to this period. It proves that 
Christians were still to be found among the royal 
pages. 

Under Commodus we hear of Carpophorus, a 
Christian “of the emperor’s household,” whose slave 
rose to be bishop Callistus (Hippol., Philos., ix. 12). 
And Ireneus writes (iv. 30. 1) as follows: ‘“ Quid 
autem et hi qui in regali aula sunt fideles, nonne 
ex eis quae Caesaris sunt habent utensilia et his qui 
non habent unusquisque eorum secundum suam 
virtutem praestat?” (* And what of those who in 
the royal palace are believers? Do they not get the 
utensils they use -from the emperor’s property ¢ 
And does not each one contribute, according to 
his ability, to those who have no such utensils ?”’). 
Which proves that there was quite a group of 
Christians at court, and that their circumstances 
were good. For a number of years, too, the royal 
concubine Marcia (ova probeos TadXaky Koyodov) was 
the most influential person at court during this period ; 
as Hippolytus relates, the Roman bishop Victor 
came and went freely from her presence, while It was 
though her mediation that he secured the release of 


200 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Christians who were languishing in the mines of 
Sardinia." 

As for the age of Septimius Severus, Tertullian 
(Apol. xxxvii.) testifies to the presence of Christians 
in the royal palace ; and in ad Scapulam iv. he writes 
as follows: “Even Severus himself, the father of 
Antoninus, was mindful of the Christians. For he 
sought out Proculus the Christian, surnamed 'Tor- 
pacion, the agent of Kuhodia, who had once cured him 
by means of oil, keeping him in the palace to the day 
of his death . . . . And both men and women of the 
highest rank, whom Severus knew to be members of 
this sect, were not merely exempted by him from 
injury, but also had open testimony borne them by 
himself, and were publicly restored to us out of the 
hands of a raging mob” (‘ Ipse etiam Severus, pater 
Antonini, Christianorum memor fuit; nam et Pro- 
culum Christianum, qui Torpacion cognominabatur, 
Euhodiae procuratorem, qui eum per deum aliquando 
curaverat, requisivit et in palatio suo habuit usque ad 
mortem eius.... sed et clarissimas feminas et 
clarissimos viros Severus, sciens huius sectae esse, non 
modo non laesit, verum et testimonio exornavit et 
populo furenti in nos palam_ restitit”).” His son, 
Caracalla, also was on intimate terms with this 
Christian (‘‘optime noverat”), and Tertullian pro- 
ceeds to describe him as having had a Christian wet- 
nurse (‘‘lacte Christiano educatus”).? Under him 

1 For Marcia, see Neumann, op. cil., pp. 84 f. Her friendliness 
to Christians is attested also by Dio Cassius, Ixxii. 4. 

2 Tertullian (de corona xii.) seems to suggest that there were 
also Christians in the imperial bodyguard. 


3 The Acta Charalampi (Bolland., 10th Feb., pp. 382 f.) mention 
a daughter of Severus who was a Christian. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 201 


died the Christian high chamberlain Prosenes in 
217 a.p.; for de Rossi is probably right in con- 
cluding from the inscription set up for him by his 
slaves (Inscr. Christ., i. No. 5, p. 9) that he died a 
Christian. During the third century the court 
officials became more powerful than ever—although 
even in the first century individual freedmen of the 
imperial house had come to exercise a commanding 
influence in the management of the State. Origin- 
ally the court appointments and the offices of State 
were sharply distinguished. While the latter could 
not be held save by freemen of knightly or senatorial 
rank, the former were filled up with imperial freed- 
men and slaves. But gradually the knights invaded 
the imperial household, while, on the other hand, 
freedmen and slaves were ennobled and admitted to 
the higher branches of the civil service. It was still 
customary, however, for imperial freedmen or the 
“Cesariani” to hold the court appointments (in 
which a graduated hierarchy of offices also obtained), 
and frequently they became the most influential 
persons in the State. Thus even a Christian, if he 
possessed the confidence of the emperor, could become 
a man of importance in the empire. 

The Syrian royal ladies were in part favourably 
disposed to Christianity. Julia Mammea, we are 
told, summoned Origen to Antioch, and Hippolytus 
dedicated a volume to her.’ Orosius, therefore, 


1 Kus., H.E., vi. 21. On Hippolytus and Mammea see my 
History of Christian Literature, i. pp. 605 f. We do not know 
who the Severina is, mentioned on the statue of Hippolytus, 
though some have Moment of Aquilia Severa, the consort of 
Elagabalus. 


202 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


dubs her a Christian (vii. 18). The court of her 
son, the emperor Alexander, was composed of many 
Christians,! and he himself was so favourable to them 
that he was celebrated by the Christians not long 
after his death as one who had been secretly a 
fellow-believer. His sayings prove that this * Syrian 
chief of the synagogue” (Lamprid., d/ev. 28) really 
busied himself with the affairs of the Christian 
religion. 

The state of matters remamed the same under 
Philip the Arabian, who also was claimed ere long as 
a secret Christian (Kus., H.1/., vi. 34). Origen wrote 
to him and to his consort Severa (Kus., H.L., vi. 36). 
And Cyprian, looking back on this period, writes 
angrily that ‘the majority of the bishops, scorning 
the stewardship of God, became stewards of earthly 
monarchs” (‘episcopi plurimi divina procuratione 
contempta procuratores regum saecularium facti sunt,” 
de lapsis vi.). So that it was not merely the laity, 
but the very bishops as well, who pressed forward 
into the most influential and lucrative appointments 
at the royal court !* 


1 Eus., H.E., vi. 28: mpos tov “AXeEavdpov oixov ek tAeovwv TricTtwv 
TvverTOTa. 

2 Naturally there was a constant interchange between court 
appointments in the capital and throughout the imperial possessions 
in the provinces. —For the landed property of the emperors during 
the first three centuries, see Hirschfeld’s study in the Beitrige sz. 
alten Geschichte, Bd. 2, H. 1, pp. 45 f., H. 2, pp. 284 f. “The 
imperial property in the provinces was far more valuable than it was 
in Italy. Egypt deserves mention primarily in this connection, 
since Augustus had taken it over in his capacity of assignee of 
the Egyptian kings. ... But of all the provinces of the empire 
(p. 295), none had so enormous an imperial propérty to show as 
Africa.” 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 203 


Like Maximinus Thrax, both Decius! and Valerian 
after him purged the court of Christians. At the 
opening of Valerian’s reign their number had again 
increased. ‘“ For the emperor was friendly and 
favourable to the servants of God; none of the 
previous emperors, none even of those who were said 
to be Christians, ever behaved with such kindness 
and favour to them as did Valerian. He treated 
them with quite undisguised friendliness and goodwill 
-at the commencement of his reign; his whole court 
was full of pious people ; it was a veritable church of 
God” (Dionys. Alex. in Eus., H.E., vii. 10). But 
this did not continue. And in the second rescript of 
258 a.b. against the Christians, the following allusion 
to the “ Cesariani” occurs: ‘“ Caesariani quicumque 
vel prius confessi fuerant vel nunc confessi fuerint con- 
fiscentur et vincti in Caesarianas possessiones descripti 
mittantur ” (Cypr., ep. Ixxx.; see above, p. 189). 

The persecution, however, did not last. Under his 
son Gallienus, the Christians already made their 
way back into the court, and now increased at such 
a rate” that under Diocletian (whose wife and 
daughter were Christians) the court at Nicomedia 
consisted largely of Christians.? The early re- 

1 In the Martyrdom of St Conon (under Decius) it is related 
that he was a gardener in the royal garden at Magydus in Pam- 
phylia (cp. von Gebhardt’s Acta Mart. Selecta, p. 130). 

2 We hear, for example, of Dorotheus, the presbyter of Antioch, 
being appointed to superintend the imperial dye-works at Tyre 
(Eus., H.E., vii. 32). Incidentally Eusebius remarks (vii. 16) that 
Astyrius, a Christian of senatorial rank, “ was very highly esteemed 
by the emperors.” 

> Kus., H.E., viii. 11. Compare the parallel passage in Lactantius, 


de morte persec., 15; also the stories of the courtiers Dorotheus 
and Gorgonius. 


204 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


scripts’ of Diocletian were specially designed to purge 
the court of them. Eusebius also states that there 
were Christians at the court of Constantine Chlorus 
(Vita Const., 1. 16), and the same holds true of the 
court of Licinius.’ 

This sketch, which makes no pretension to be 
complete, may serve to indicate how Christians made 
their way into the court at an early period, and how 
they came there to form a factor which was occasion- 
ally quite important. 

§ 3. The spread of Christianity in the army. The 
position of a soldier would seem to be still more 
incompatible with Christianity than the higher offices 
of state, for not merely had a soldier to “taste 
blood” like an official, but it fell to him much oftener 
to perform idolatrous actions (the regimental colours 
being “‘sacra”). Christianity, therefore, never became 
a religion of the camp, and all representations of 
Christianity which make out as if it had diffused 
itself specially by means of soldiers, are to be 
eschewed (see vol. i. pp. 385, 461). Upon the other 
hand, however, particularly among legions stationed 
in the East, Christian soldiers were to be found as 
early as the second century, and the number of 
Christians in the army increased with the general 
growth of the church. ‘The strict party of believers 
tried to demonstrate that the Christian religion and 
the military calling were inconsistent, claiming that 
Christian soldiers ought to leave the service or else 


1 The epistle of Theonas, which tells of a Christian librarian of 
Diocletian, is a forgery. 

2 See Jerome’s Chron., ad ann. 2337: “ Licinius Christianos de 
palatio suo pellit ” (‘‘ Licinius expels the Christians from his palace’). 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 205 


suffer martyrdom. ‘They exulted over every case in 
which a soldier, under the impulse of his Christian 
conscience, deliberately committed a breach of military 
discipline and was marched off to prison for his 
offence. But such cases were rare. One or two 
resignations certainly did take place, as well as acts 
of blunt insubordination; but Christian soldiers 
considered that it was quite permissible for them to 
respect the regulations and ceremonies current in the 
service, while the church, relying on Luke iii. 14, and 
on the centurions of Capernaum and Cesarea (ep. also 
the centurion at the foot of the cross), shut her eyes 
to such matters from the very first. In fact, by the 
opening of the third century, the large body of 
Christians took it amiss if any soldier endangered 
his fellow-soldiers (or, under certain circumstances, 
the whole of the local church) by any outburst of 
Christian fanaticism. As for the rigorous party, they 
hardly made anything of their prohibitions. And 
yet, even though he managed to come to some terms 
about the usual official regulations, the Christian 
soldier occupied a more perilous position than the 
ordinary Christian. At any moment his connection 
with the forbidden sect might occasion summary 
proceedings against him; besides, he might be 
expected to perform actions which even the laxer 
Christian conscience forbade. Martyrs in the army 
therefore appear to have been relatively more 
numerous than among civilians; at any rate they 
are to be met with even during periods which have 
no record of any other martyrs. Yet there cannot 
have been very many Christian soldiers in the army 
before the reign of Diocletian, otherwise special 


206 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


repressive orders would have issued. And none such 
is known to have existed.’ It was under Diocletian 
that the authorities first became alive to the situation. 
The great persecution was directed primarily against 
Christian soldiers, and Licinius followed it up by a 
special edict against them. Conversely, the public 
toleration and preferential treatment of the Christian 
religion began with the affixing of the cross to the 
colours of the regiments (by Constantine during his 
expedition against Maxentius). 

Such is, in brief, the scope covered by the theme 
“the Christian and the soldier” during the pre- 
Constantine period.” A concise collection of the 
most important items now falls to be subjoined. 

In 2 Tim. u. 8 f. and 2 Clem. xxxvu., the career 
or organization of the military profession is quite 
frankly adduced as a pattern for Christians.* ‘The 
oldest evidence for Christians, and indeed for a pretty 
large number of Christians, in a legion is furnished 
by the contemporary accounts of the miracle of the 
rain in the reign of M. Aurelius (Apollinaris and 
Tertullian in Eus. A., v. 5). The legion in 
question was that of Melitene (12), and it is not 
surprising that of all legions it should contain a 
considerable percentage of Christians, since it was 
recruited from districts where Christians were 

1 See below, however, on Eus. vii. 15. 

2 On the church’s use of figures and descriptions drawn from 
the military calling, see above, pp. 19 f. The possibility of the 
language of the camp having influenced the ecclesiastical dialect 
in Africa must be left an open question. 

3 Among the charges brought by Eusebius against Maximinus Daza 


H.E., viii. 14. 11) is that of having rendered the army effeminate. 
, § y 
Eusebius’s feelings thus are those of a loyal citizen of the empire. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 207 


particularly numerous.’ Neither then nor subse- 
quently did any Christian censure these soldiers for 
their profession, and Clement of Alexandria plainly 
assumes that the military vocation is consistent with 
the confession of the Christian faith.’ Tertullian * 
was the sternest of the strict party who held that the 
army and Christianity were irreconcilable; yet not 
merely does he testify to the presence of Christians 
in the army during his own day, but he was enough 
of a politician at the same time to lay a satisfied 
stress upon this very fact before civil governors. 
Did it not refute the accusation that Christians were 
idle anchorites and gymnosophists?* Nevertheless 


1 Even at a later period the legion still had Christians in its 
ranks; cp. Eus., H.E., v. 5. 1, and Gregory of Nyssa’s Orat. II. in 
XL. Martyras (ovp. Paris, 1638, t. iii. p. 505 f.). The forty martyrs 
(see below) also belonged to this legion. See my essay on this 
miracle of the rain in the Sttzungsber. d. k. Pr. Akad. d. Wiss., 
1894, pp. 835 f. 

2 Protrept., x. 100: orparevopevov oe xateiAnhev 7) yvaous, Tod Sikara 
onpaivevros axove otpatyyod (“ Has knowledge come upon you in 
military service ? then listen to that Commander who gives righteous 
orders”), which does not, of course, mean that one must give up 
the army. 

8 Tatian’s (Orat, xi.) phrase, tiv otparynyiav rapytrypar (“ I renounce 
the office”) refers to the preetorship, but he, too, was undoubtedly 
opposed to the military calling. 

4 Apol. xxxvii.: “ Vestra omnia implevimus . . . . castra ipsa.” 
xlvii. : “ Non sumus Brachmanae aut Indorum gymnosophistae . . . . 
militamus vobiscum ” [ep. vol. i. 341]. For Christians in the army at 
Lambese, see ad Scap. iv. Here, however, he is concealing his 
own opinions, just as in the Apologia, where he simply says that 
Christians pray “ pro mora finis.” He is also concealing that fervid 
longing for the advent of Christ’s kingdom which finds expression 
in his exposition of the words, “Thy kingdom come.” His private 
views on the army are given in de idolol. xix. and de corona militis 
(cp. also de pallio v.: non milito, and de resurr. xvi.). 


208 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the incompatibility of the higher positions in the 
army with the Christian vocation was settled for 
Tertullian by one consideration, viz., that such officers 
had to perform judicial duties amongst others; while 
surely the private soldier, he argues, cannot be a 
Christian, since a man cannot be in two camps at 
the same time—in that of Christ, in that of the devil 
—nor can a man serve two masters. Furthermore, in 
disarming Peter, Christ stripped every Christian of 
his sword, and this renders every appeal to the 
soldiers who came to John or to the centurion at 
Capernaum quite untenable (de ¢dol. xix.). The 
soldier who refused a military crown and was 
executed for his refusal, was hailed with triumph by 
Tertullian. He devoted a special treatise to this 
ease—which! plainly proves that the case was quite 
unique, and that other Christians in the army 
accepted the military crown without any hesitation. 
Origen, too, was one of the stricter party. When 
1 This is brought out with still greater clearness in the view of the 
subject which was current in Christian circles (ch. i.). ‘ Abruptus, 


praeceps, mori cupidus,” such a soldier was dubbed (“ headstrong, 
rash, and eager for death”). “ Musitant denique tam bonam et 


longem sibi pacem periclitari .... ubi prohibemur coronari?” 
(“They murmur at their prolonged and happy peace being: 
endangered. . . . Where, they ask, are we forbidden to get 


crowned?”). In ch. xi. Tertullian expounds still more sharply 
than in the treatise de idololatria, the incompatibility of 
Christianity and the military calling. Here, too, he discusses the 
question, what is a soldier to do, who is converted when a soldier? 
At one moment it seems as if he might remain a soldier (Luke 
iii, 14; Matt. viii. 10; Acts x. 1 f.).—There is always the possibility 
of taking all precautions against committing any irreligious action as 
a soldier. But Tertullian recommends only two ways out of the 
difficulty : either resigning one’s post (“ut a multis actum” = as has 
been done by many) or suffering martyrdom. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 209 


Celsus demands that Christians ought to aid the 
emperor’ by entering the army, Origen answers by 
pointing out that they do so by their prayers ; martial 
service is no more to be expected from them than 
from priests.2 Finally, Lactantius was another 
rigorist (Instzt., vi. 20. 16).  ‘* Militare iusto non 
licebit, cuius militia est ipsa justitia, neque vero 
accusare quemquam crimine capitali, quia nihil distat 
utrumne ferro an verbo potius occidas, quoniam 
occisio ipsa prohibetur” (“It will not be lawful for 
the righteous man to engage in warfare. His true 
warfare is righteousness itself. Nor will he be right 
in accusing anyone on a capital charge, since there is 
no difference between killing a person by word or 
by the sword. Killing itself is prohibited ”). 

But these rigorists brought about no change what- 
ever in the actual situation. There were Christians 
in the Melitene legion and at Lambese, and Christians 
were to be found in other legions also. It turned out 
that the soldier who led Potamizna to martyrdom 
in Alexandria (202/3 a.p.) was attached to the 
Christian faith, though he had not yet received 
baptism.* <A similar instance occurred once more in 

! It is quite obvious from this that Christians were charged with 
a disinclination to serve in the army, and the charge was un- 
doubtedly well founded. In actual life, however, collisions of this 
kind were rare, for there can hardly have been many cases of 
Christians being impressed against their will. See Mommsen’s 
Rom. Staatsrecht, ii. 2°, pp. 849 f.; and in Hermes xix. (1883), 
pp. 3 f.; also Neumann, op. cit., i. pp. 127 f. 

2 ¢. Cels., VIII. Ixviii. For Christians as “priests of peace” 
(sacerdotes pacis), see also Tert., de spect., xvi. 

3 The story of his martyrdom corresponds to that of the soldier 


in the treatise de corona. For some reason or another Basilides 


(such was his name) was challenged by a fellow-soldier to take an 
VOL. II. 


210 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Alexandria under Decius (ep. Dionys. Alex. in Eus., 
HE., vi. 41. 16); but still more weighty is the 
account given by Dionysius of the Decian persecution 
in the Egyptian capital, where the whole of a small 
commando (cvvTaypua TTPATLWTLKOY), which had mustered 
for the trial of some Christians, turned out to be com- 
posed either of Christians or of their friends. ‘“ And 
when one who was being tried as a Christian inclined 
to deny his faith, they gnashed their teeth, made 
signs to him, held out their hands, and made gestures 
with all their limbs. Whereupon the attention of 
everybody was directed to them, but, before they 
could be seized by anyone, they rushed to the dock 
and avowed that they were Christians ” (Kus., A. £., 
vi. 41. 22 f.). As there had not been any intention, 
of course, of specially selecting Christian soldiers for 
this judicial duty, the incident shows how widely 
Christianity had spread among the army’ in Egypt. 
When the Diocletian persecution had passed, and 
when the question arose of subjecting the “lapsi” 
to a penitential discipline, the soldiers who had offered 
sacrifice were mentioned in Egypt as a special class 
by themselves (Epiph., Her., Ixviii. 2). 

The account given by Eusebius (vu. 15) of an 
officer called Marinus, who was stationed at Cesarea 
in Cappadocia, is most instructive. He distinctly 
states that at this time (during the reign of Gallienus) 
the Christians were enjoying peace. Marinus was to 
oath, which, as a Christian, he refused to do, His refusal was at 
first construed as a jest. But when he persisted in it, proceedings 
were instituted against him (Eus., H.£., vi. 5). 

1 Compare also the other statement of Dionysius (vii. 11. 20), 


to the effect that soldiers were included among the victims of 
Valerian’s persecution in Egypt. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 211 


be promoted to fill a vacant position as centurion. 
But another person stepped forward and declared 
that Marinus was a Christian, and therefore could not, 
“according to ancient law,” hold any Roman office, 
since he did not sacrifice. to the emperors. <A dis- 
cussion ensued, and the judge gave Marinus, who 
had avowed his Christianity, some time to consider 
his position. On leaving the tribunal, he was taken 
by the hand and conducted by the bishop into the 
church. ‘Then, holding out the volume of the gospels 
and at the same time pointing to his sword, the 
bishop bade him decide which he meant to choose. 
The officer grasped the gospels. On reappearing 
before the judge, he adhered stedfastly to his faith 
and was executed. Now this story shows that among 
officers in the army the profession of Christianity was 
not tolerated, and it would even seem as though 
express regulations on the subject were in existence. 
But it shows also that in practice Christianity was 
connived at. The authorities always waited for some 
occasion of conflict to arise. 

“The first objects of the persecution were believers 
in the army,” says Eusebius (H.E., viii. 1. 7), 
as he starts to tell the story of the Diocletian 
persecution.’ Lactantius agrees with him. “ Datis 


1 Cp. viii. 4: mielorovs rapiv trav év otpareias bpav dopevéorara 
Tov idww7iKov mpoacralopéevovs Biov, ds dv pi CEapvor yévowTo Ths 7epi 
Tov Tov Ohwv Onpiovpyov eboeBeias: ds yap 6 oTpatoreddpxns, Sorts 
more iv éxeivos [cp. Jerome’s Chron, ad ann. 2317: “ Veturius magister 
militiae Christianos milites persequitur, paulatim ex illo iam tempore 
persecutione adversus nos incipiente ’ = Veturius, the military chief, 
persecutes Christian soldiers, and the persecution now gradually 
begins to be directed against us], apt. apa@rov evexeiper TO KaTa TOV 
oTpaTevpatuv dwwyp@, pvdoKpwov cai diaxabaipwv Tods év Tos oTparo- 


212 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANTEX 


ad praepositos litteris etiam milites [court officials 
having been previously mentioned] cogi ad nefanda 
sacrificia praecepit, ut qui non paruissent, militia 
solverentur. hactenus furor eius et ira processit nec 
amplius quicquam contra legem aut religionem dei 
fecit” (de mort. x.: ‘By instructions issued to the 
officers, he also had soldiers forced to offer accursed 
sacrifices, so that those who disobeyed were dis- 
charged from the army. Thus far did his fury and 
anger go. Nor did he do anything further against 
the laws and religion of God”). The court and the 
army, the two pillars of the throne, were to be 
purged of Christians. This determination shows how 
numerous Christians were in the army,’ and con- 
sequently the dismissal or the martyrdom of soldiers 


médois advahepopmevous, aipeciv te did0vs  TeOapxovow as peTnv avrots 
Grodavew TYysnS 7) Tovvavtiov orépecOa TavTns, «i dvTiTdTTOWTO TO 
TpooTaypatt, wA€loTo. boo. THS Xpictod Bacireias orpatidrar THv «is 
avtov 6podoyiav, wi peAAnoavtes, THs Soxovans dons Kal edrpayias, 7s 
cixov, dvappiidyws mpoitiunoay (“ Many soldiers were to be met 
with, who cheerfully accepted the private life of civilians that they 
might not deny the reverent piety due to the creator of the 
universe. For when the general, whoever he was, started his 
persecution of the soldiers, separating them into tribes and purging 
those enlisted in the army, he gave them a choice: either they 
were to obey and thus reap the honour which was their due, or 
else to lose that meed of honour if they disobeyed orders. Where- 
upon a vast number of soldiers, belonging to the kingdom of Christ, 
unhesitatingly made up their minds at once to prefer his confession 
to the seeming glory and good fortune which they were enjoying’’). 
Presently executions commenced, which had not originally been 
contemplated. In Mart. Pal., xi. 20, Eusebius incidentally mentions 
one confessor from the army. 

1 Cp. Acta S, Mazimiliani (Ruinart’s Acta Martyr. Ratisbon, 1859, 
p- 341): “Dixit Dion proconsul: in sacro comitatu dominorum 
nostrorum Diocletiani et Meximiani, Constantii et Maximi milites 
Christiani sunt et militant,” 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 213 


was particularly common during this persecution, 
while many soldiers of course came also to deny 
their faith and often to sacrifice. In Melitene 
and Syria the army was driven to partial rebellion, 
and it appears that Diocletian scented the plotting 
of Christians at the back of this (Eus., H.E., 
vill. 6. 8). 

Kusebius also relates how ence specially purged 
the army of Christians during his final efforts to a 
out against Constantine (HZ.L., x. 8, Vita Const., 
54).. It was then that the forty soldiers of Sebaste 
were martyred—one further witness * to the existence 
of many Christians in the ranks of the 12th Thunder- 
ing (‘‘ fulminata”) legion. 

Soldiers play an important rdle in the Acts of the 
martyrs. Some instances of this have already been 
noted, and it would lead us too far afield to state the 

evidence completely, especially as forgeries were 
extremely plentiful in this very province of literary 
effort. Reference need only be made to Getulus, the 
husband of Symphorosa, and his brother Amantius, 
to the famous “ passio” of Mauricius and the Thebaic 
legion, etc. Nereus and Achilles (cp. Achelis, in Texte 

1 Those aimed at, in the first instance, were the xara zédw 
otpatiatat (the soldiers in the cities), ze. the police-officers and 
guardians of the peace, whose importance, like that of the court 
officials, became steadily superior with every decade to that of the 
civil service. 

2 No passage in this Testament indicates that it was written by, 
or that it originated with, soldiers (ep. Bonwetsch, Neue kirchil. 
Zeitschrift, iii. 12, pp. 705 f. ; Haussleiter, zbid., pp. 978 f. ; Bonwetsch, 
Studien z. Gesch. d. Theol. u. Kirche, i. pp. 75 f.; and von Gebhardt’s 
Acta Mart. Selecta, 1902, pp. 166 f.). The record of the martyrdom, 


which must be used with care and caution, is printed on pp. 171 f. 
of von Gebhardt’s volume. 


214 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


u. Unters., xi. 2. 44), Polyeuctes,' Maximilianus,? Mar- 
cellus,* Theodorus (Ruinart, pp. 506 f.: of Amasia 


1 Of the Melitene legion; cp. Conybeare’s Apol. and Acts of 
Apollonius (1894), pp. 123 f. 

2 Cp. Ruinart, op. cit., pp. 340 f. (“ Theveste in foro’ = Before the 
court at Theveste). ‘Fabius Victor temonarius est constitutus 
cum Valeriano Quintiano praeposito Caesariensi cum bono tirone 
Maximiliano filio Victoris; quoniam probabilis est, rogo ut in- 
cumetur. . . . Maximilianus respondit: Quid autem vis scire 
nomen meum? mihi non licet militare, quia Christianus sum, Dion 
proconsul dixit: apta illum. cumque aptaretur, Maximilianus 
respondit : non possum militare, non possum maleficere, Christianus 
sum. Dion proconsul dixit: Incumetur. cumque incumatus fuisset, 
ex officio recitatum est: Habet pedes quinque [quinos?], uncias 
decem [so that he was able-bodied]. Dion dixit ad officium: 
signetur. cumque resisteret Maximilianus, respondit: Non facio ; 
non possum militare [‘ Fabius Victor, collector of the military 
exemption tax, was brought up with Valerianus Quintianus, prefect 
of Cesarea, and with Maximilianus the son of Victor, a good recruit. 
As he is a likely man, I ask that he be measured.’... M. 
answered, ‘ But why do you want to know my name? I dare not 
fight, since I am a Christian.’ ‘Measure him, said Dion the 
proconsul ; but on being measured, M. answered, ‘I cannot fight, I 
cannot commit a crime; I am a Christian.’ Said the proconsul, 
‘Let him be measured.’ And after he had been measured, the word 
came: he is five feetten. Then said Dion to the attendants, ‘ Mark 
him.’ And M. cried out, ‘ No, no, I cannot be a soldier’]. See also 
what follows. “ Milito deo meo”; “non accipio signaculum ; iam 
habeo signum Christi dei mei. . . . si signaveris, rumpo illud, quia 
nihil valet. . . . non licet mihi plumbum collo portare post signum 
salutare domini mei” (“I am a soldier of my God. I refuse the 
mark. Already I have Christ’s mark, who is my God. If you 
mark me, I shall annul it as invalid. ... I cannot wear aught 
leaden on my neck after the saving mark of my Lord’’). To the 
proconsul’s question as to what crime soldiers practised, Maxi- 
milianus replied, “ You know quite well what they do” (“tu enim 
scis quae faciunt’”’).—Here we have a scene of forcible conscription. 

3 Cp. Ruinart, pp. 343 f. (“in civitate Tingitana”). On the 
emperor's birthday, when everybody was feasting and sacrificing, 
“ Marcellus quidam ex centurionibus legionis Traianae. . . . reiecto 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 215 


in Pontus), Tarachus,' Marcianus and Nicander,’ 


cingulo militari coram signis legionis, quae tune aderant, clara voce 
testatus est, diceus: Jesu Christo regi aeterno milito. abjecit 
quoque vitem et arma et addidit: ex hoc militare imperatoribus 
vestris desisto et deos vestros ligneos et lapideos adorare contemno. 
si talis est condicio militantium, ut diis et imperatribus sacra facere 
compellantur, ecce proicio vitem et cingulum, renuntio signis, et 
militare recuso”’ (“ A certain Marcellus, belonging to the centurions 
of the Trajan legion, put aside the military belt in front of the 
regimental standards, and testified in clear tones that he was a 
soldier of Jesus Christ, the king Eternal. He also put away the 
centurion’s staff and arms, adding, ‘ Henceforth I cease to be a 
soldier of your emperors. I scorn to worship your gods of wood 
and stone. If it is a condition of military service to be obliged to 
do sacrifice to your gods and emperors, then hereby I throw off my 
staff and arms. I give up the colours, I refuse to be a soldier’”’). 
When on trial, he added that it was unbecoming for a Christian 
who served his captain Christ, to serve in secular engagements 
(“non decebat Christianum hominem molestiis secularibus militare, 
qui Christo domino militat’’). 

1 Cp. Ruinart, pp. 451 f. When the judge asked what was his 


position, he replied: orparwrixfes ... . dia d@ 7O Xpiotiavoy pe 
civat viv wayavevew npetnodpyy (“That of a soldier... . But as I 


am a Christian, I now choose to wear ordinary dress’’). To the 
further question, how he had ever gained his freedom, Tarachus 
replied: “I besought Fulvian the taxiarch, and he dismissed me” 
(edenOnv PovdBiovos tod tagudpxov, Kal dméAvceé pe). He met the 
_threats of the judge with the remark (p. 464): «i Kai ra padiora 
ovk e€eotl col KaTa TOD THLATOS [LOV, FTPATLWTLKOV OVTG OUTWS TAPAVOLwWS 
Bacavilew [cp. the rescript of Diocletian to Salustius], rAyjv od 
TapalTovpal cov Tas amovolas, TpaTTe 0 Oélas (“Though it were ever 
so unlawful for you to put my body to the torture, yet I do not 
deprecate your insensate breach of military law. Wreak your will 
on me”’ 

2 Cp. Ruinart, pp. 571 f. Upon the judge remonstrating that 
the emperor had ordered sacrifices, Nicander replies: ‘This 
injunction is designed for those who are willing to sacrifice. But 
we are Christians, and we cannot be bound by an injunction of this 
kind” (“ Volentibus sacrificare haec praeceptio constituta est, nos 
vero Christiani sumus, et huiuscemodi praecepto teneri non 


216 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Dasius,' and the famous Pachomius,’” ete., were all 
soldiers. 

This representation of the relations between the 
church and military service might be contested on 
the basis of the twelfth canon of Nicza, which runs 
as follows: “Those who are called by grace and 
have displayed early zeal and laid aside their military 
belts, but have subsequently turned back like a dog 
to his vomit—some even spending sums of money and 
securing military reinstation by dint of presents— 


possumus’’). To the further question as to why they would no 
longer draw their pay, Nicander answers, “ Because the coin of the 
impious taints those who desire to worship God” (“ Quia pecuniae 
impiorum contagium sunt viris deum colere cupientibus ”’). 

1 Cp. Analect. Bolland., xvi. (1897), pp. 11 f. Dasius declined to 
participate in the dissolute military celebration of the Saturnalia. 

2 Pachomius served (cp. his “ Life”) in the army of Constantine 
that fought Maxentius. He is said to have been brought over to 
Christianity by the brotherly love which the Christian soldiers 
showed. Therafter he became a monk, and the founder of the 
famous monastic settlement at Tabennisi—The Acta Archelai open 
with a narrative in praise of Marcellus at Carrhe. ‘This wealthy 
Christian is said to have ransomed over 7700 military prisoners of 
war, an act which made a deep impression upon them. “Illi 
admirati et amplexi tam immensam viri pietatem munificentiamque 
et facti stupore permoti exemplo misericordiae commonentur, ut 
plurimi ex ipsis adderentur ad fidem domini nostri Jesu Christi 
derelicto militiae cingulo, alii vero vix quarta pretiorum portione 
suscepta ad propria castra discederent, caeteri autem parum omnino 
aliquid quantum viatico sufficeret accipientes abirent” (“ Astounded 
with admiration for the man’s extraordinary piety and generosity, 
which they enjoyed, and overcome by his example of humane 
kindness, the most of them were led to join the faith of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, by casting away the military belt; others made off to 
their own camp after little more than a fourth part of the money 
had been paid, while almost all the rest took as much as they 
needed for their journey, and departed’’), The story jis an 
invention, in all likelihood; still it is not without value. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 217 


these are to remain, after their three years as 
‘hearers,’ for the space of ten years further among 
the ‘kneelers,’” ete. It might be inferred from this 
that the synod considered Christianity incompatible 
with the military calling. But, on the other hand, 
as Hefele has rightly pointed out in the main (don- 
stlen-Gesch., 1. pp. 414 f., Eng. trans., i. pp. 417 f.), the 
passage has nothing whatever to do with soldiers in 
general, but only with such soldiers as had resigned 
their position for the sake of their Christian confession 
and had subsequently gone back to the ranks. In 
the second place, the canon refers to soldiers serving 
in the army of Licinius, who had given up their 
military belts when the emperor purged the army of 
Christians (which is perhaps alluded to in the ex- 
pression, THY Tpworyy Opry evdetEar Oa), and then gone 
back to the army, thus denying their faith—since 
this army was practically pagan and engaged in 
combating Constantine. That this is the sense in 
which the canon is to be taken, is shown by its close 
connection with the eleventh canon, which treats of 
those who fell away et ras Tupavvidos Auwiov (* during 
the reign of Licinius”). Our canon fits in very 
closely to this one. 

§ 4. The spread of Christianity among women.— 
Anyone who reads the New Testament attentively, 
as well as those writings which immediately succeeded 
it, cannot fail to notice that in the apostolic and sub- 
apostolic ages women played an important role in the 
propaganda of Christianity and throughout the 
Christian communities. 

From 1 Cor. vii. 12 f. we learn that there were 
mixed marriages in Corinth, although it is impossible 


—w 


218 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


to ascertain whether it was more usual for a pagan to 
be wedded to a Christian woman, or the reverse. It 
is quite clear, however, that women appeared in the 
local assemblies of the church, with the consent of the 
apostle, and that they prayed and prophesied in 
public (xi. 5 f.). This fact and this permission may 
seem to contradict the evidence of xiv. 34 f. (“Let 
the women keep silence in the congregations: for 
they are not allowed to speak, but are to be in subjec- 
tion, as also the law enjoins. If they wish to learn 
anything, let them ask their own husbands at home, 
for it is a scandal that any woman should speak in the 
congregation’) and, indeed, the one way of removing 
the contradiction between these two passages is to 
suppose that in the former Paul is referring to prayers 
and prophecies of the ecstatic state over which no one 
could exercise any control, while the speech (Aadeiv) 
which is forbidden in the second passage denotes 
public instruction. At any rate the apostle is censuring 
Christian women for overstepping their bounds, not 
only by attempting to teach in the churches, but also 
by claiming to appear unveiled at worship.’ In xvi. 
19 Aquila and Prisca (Priscilla), together with the 
church in their house at Ephesus, send greetings. 
This passage already mentions the wife along with 
the husband (although after him), which is noteworthy, 
for as a rule the husband alone is mentioned in such 
cases. The woman must therefore have been of some 
importance personally and in the church at their 


| Cp. Tertullian’s de virginibus velandis (and the Liber Pontif., s.v. 
Linus: “ Hic ex praecepto beati Pauli constituit, ut mulier in ecclesia 
velato capite introiret”’ = This he ordained by the injunction of the 
blessed Paul, that women must come to church with veiled heads). 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 219 


house, a fact on which some light is presently thrown 
by the epistle to the Romans.* 

In Rom. xvi. 1 f. a certain Phoebe is commended, 
who is described as “ one who ministers to the church 
at Cenchree.” The subsequent description of her 
as one who “has proved herself a succourer of many 
and of myself” (pooraris TOAA@Y eyevn On Kal €LOU auTov), 
renders it probable that she was a woman of property 
and a patroness (not an employee) of the church at 
~Cenchree. This recommendation is followed by 
the charge to “greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow- 
labourers in Christ Jesus—who laid down their necks 
for my life, and to whom not only I but all the 
Gentile churches render thanks. Greet also the 
church in their house” (Rom. xvi. 3 f.). Here the 
name of Prisca stands first, as also is the case, we 
may add, in 2 Tim. iv. 19. Plainly the woman 
was the leading figure of the two, so far as regards 
Christian activity at least. It is to her that thanks 
and praise are offered in the first instance. She was 
a fellow-labourer of Paul, 7.e. a missionary and at 
the same time the leader of a small church, and both 
of these injunctions imply that she taught. Nor 
could she take part in missionary work and in teach- 
ing, unless she had been inspired and set apart by 
the Spirit. Otherwise Paul would not have re- 
cognized her. She may be claimed as 7 azoaToXos, 
therefore, although Paul has not given her this title. 
Further greetings in Rom. xvi. (6) are addressed to 


1 In 1 Cor. i. 11 Paul mentions of ris XAdys, who brought him 
special information about the state of matters in the Corinthian 
church ; but we do not know if Chloe was herself a Christian, nor 
can we tell where to look for her, 


220 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


a certain Mary jes mo\A\a exoTiacey es vuas, to 
Tryphena and Tryphosa Tas KoTLOVTAaS eV kupio (12), 
to Persis 7 ayarnty, itis Toda éxoTriacey ev kup (12), 
to the mother of Rufus, whom Paul also describes 
as his own mother (13), to Julias, probably the wife 
of the Philologus with whom she is mentioned (15), 
and to the sister of Nereus (15). Thus no fewer than 
fifteen women are saluted, alongside of eighteen 
men,’ and all these must have rendered important 
services to the church or to the apostle, or to both, 
in the shape of the work which is here noted to their 
credit.” 

From Col. iv. 15 we learn that there was a con- 
venticle at Colossé, presided over by a woman called 
Nymphé ; for it was in her house that the meetings 
took place.’ 

In Philippians, which contains so few personal 
items, we read (iv. 2): “I exhort Euodia and I 
exhort Syntyché to be of the same mind in the Lord. 
Yea, I pray thee also, true yokefellow, to help these 
women, for they have wrought with me in the service 
of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of 
my fellow-workers, whose names are in the Book of 


1 Counting Junias, next to Andronicus (xvi. 7), as a man. 
Chrysostom, however, took the name as feminine (= Junia). 

2 The overwhelming probability is that Pomponia Greecina, the 
“ distinguished lady” (“insignis femina’’) of Rome in the apostolic 
age (Tacit., Annal., xiii. 32), was also a Christian, but this question 
has been so frequently fully discussed that it needs no further 
investigation. 

3 *Agrdcacbe . . . . Nupdav xal tiv Kar otkov airis exkAnoiav. 
In the note to Philemon, whose destination was also Colossé, 
Philemon’s wife Apphia is mentioned (but no more) along with 
himself in the opening address, as the note referred to a domestic 
affair in which the mistress of the household also had some say. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 221 


life.” These two women, then, had helped to found 
the church at Philippi, and consequently occupied a 
position of high honour still (perhaps as presidents 
of two churches in their houses, like Nymphé at 
Colossé). They had at present fallen into dissension, 
and the apostle is careful to avoid siding with either 
party. He would have them find the right road 
themselves, with the further aid of the husband of 
one of them (ze. of Syntyché)—the other being 
perhaps a widow, or married to a pagan, or un- 
married. ‘The affair would certainly have never been 
mentioned in the epistle, had it not been of moment 
to the whole community. 

Both in Col. ii. 18 and in Eph. v. 22 the apostle 
insists that wives are to be subject to their husbands, 
and the redoubled injunction becomes intelligible 
when we observe how natural it was for Christian 
women to strike out on a line of their own. 

The book of Acts fills up the outline sketched by 
Paul. Inthe church of Jerusalem (i. 14) Christian 
women were already to the front; a daily meeting 
was held at night in the house of Mary the mother of 
Mark. ‘The accession of women as well as of men to 
the church is expressly noted (v. 14). We hear of 
Tabitha at Joppa (ix. 36 f.), of Lydia at Philippi,’ 
the first Christian woman we know of in Europe (xvi. 
14), of Damaris at Athens side by side with Dionysius 
(xvii. 34), of the four daughters of Philip who were 
prophetesses (xxi. 9), and of the special share taken 


1 Three women, therefore, took part in the founding of the church 
at Philippi—Lydia, Euodia, and Syntyché. Lydia, however, may 
be a cognomen, in which case she might be identified with either 


Euodia or Syntyché, 


222 EXPANSION ‘OF CHRISTIANTEY 


by women of the Diaspora in the new movement 
(xii. 50, at Antioch of Pisidia, of "Iovdato: tapoérpuvay 
TAs ce Bouevas yuvaikas Tas ev XI Movas Kal TOUS 7 PWTOUS THS 
Todews: XVI. 4, at Thessalonica, TpocexAnpwoOncay TH 
IlavAw cai To Dida, Tov Te ceBouevwv ‘EXAjvov 7AROOs TorV 
yuvaikayv Te TOV Tr POT WY OUK oN yot : Xvil. 12, at Bercea, 
ToAAol érictevcay Kat Tov ‘EXdnvidwv yuvakov TOV evrX- 
povev kat aydpav [note the precedence of the women] 
ovx oNyor). Priscilla also is adduced, and adduced in a 
way that corresponds entirely with what Paul tells us. 
She and her husband! stand independently alongside 
of Paul (xviii. 2 f.). At Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome, 
they carry on a mission work in combination with 
him but by virtue of their own authority. Yet in 
Acts also (xviii. 18, 26) the woman is first, and it was 
the woman who—as Chrysostom truly infers from 
xvill. 26—converted Apollos, the disciple of John the 
Baptist. As the latter was a cultured Greek, the 
woman who was capable of instructing him (axpeBéorepov 
ex Oeivat THY 600v TOU Oeov) must have been herself a 
person of some culture. She was not merely the 
mother of a church in her house. As we find from 
Paul as well, she was a missionary and a teacher. 

In First Peter, women are exhorted likewise to be 
submissive to their husbands, but a special motive 
for this is appended (iil. 1): wa Kal el TwWes aTreOoUow TH 
Oyw, Ola THS THY yuvaKeY avarT pops cvev Noyou eponO- 
covTa, eromTevcarTes THY ev GOBw ayy avactpopyy tmer. 


Unbelieving husbands are to be converted by the 


1 Aquila alone is described as a Jew from Pontus. Does this 
mean that his wife was of other and higher origin? Cp. my study 
on the couple in the Sitzungsberichte d. Preuss. Akad. d, Wissen., 1900, 


pp. 2 f. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY = 225 


behaviour of their wives, not by sermons and instruc- 
tion from them. ‘This presupposes mixed marriages, 
in which it was the women who were Christians. 

In the Apocalypse we hear of a Christian, though 
heretical, prophetess at Thyatira, called Jezebel, who 
seduced the church. Which tacitly presupposes that 
women could be, and actually were, prophetesses.' 

After staying some time at Smyrna, in the course 
of his journey to Rome, Ignatius sends greetings in 
the two letters which he addressed to the local church 
(ad Smyrn.,ad Polyc.) from 'Troas—letters which other- 
wise contain very few greetings indeed—to a certain 
Alké, ro roOyrev jou bvoua (“a name right dear to 
me”); in one letter he also salutes “ the household of 
Gabia, praying that she may be grounded in faith 
and love ” 
ayarn), while in the other he sends greetings to Tv Tot 
éexttporov [so I read, following what seems to me to be a 
probable conjecture of Lightfoot instead of ’Ezcrpo7ov] 
guy OAP TH olkw adTHS Kal Tov Téxvov [Tots Téxvors ?] (* the 
wife of the governor, with all her household and 
her children’s [her children ?]”). There is something 
very attractive, too, in Lightfoot’s further conjecture 
that Gabia is to be identified with the wife of the 
procurator (‘‘ mention is made in the inscription at 
Smyrna of an officer called TIT POTOS TTpaTHyos or 
éritporos Tis oTpatyyias; another Smyrnezan inscription 
speaks of émitporos tot LeBacrov, see Boeck, C. J. 
3151, 3162, 3203”). This would make the pro- 
curator’s wife Gabia a Christian, while he himself 
was a pagan (a typical case, to which we are able to 


‘ > he nl + e - , A 
(Tov OLKOV Taovias, DV eVvXOMaL edpac bat TLOTEL KAL 


1 In Heb. xi. women are also presented as heroines of the faith. 
The epistle was perhaps composed by Priscilla or by Aquila. 


224 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


bring forward many a parallel). It would also give 
her a prominent position in the church. Such a 
position, and in fact even a more prominent one, 
must have been also occupied by Alké, nor was her 
case quite by itself. In the epistle of the Smyrnzans 
upon the death of Polycarp (c. xvil.), we read of an 
opponent of the Christians, called Nicetas, who was 
« Alké’s brother,” a description which would be 
meaningless if Alké herself had not been a very 
prominent lady not only in Smyrna but also in 
Philomelium (to which the epistle is addressed). 
Both of these passages from Ignatius, in short, throw 
light upon the fact that she was a Christian of 
especial influence and energy in Smyrna, and that 
her character was familiar throughout Asia. By the 
year 115 a.p. she was already labouring for the 
church, and as late as 150 a.p. she was still well 
known and apparently still living. Her brother was 
an energetic foe to Christianity, while she herself 
was a pillar of the church. And so it was with Gabia. 
In both cases the men were pagans, the women 
Christians. 

A prominent position in some unknown church of 
Asia must also have been occupied by the woman to 
whom the second epistle of John was written, not 
long before the letters of Ignatius. She appears to 
have been distinguished for exceptional hospitality, 
and the author therefore warns her in a friendly way 
against receiving heretical itinerant teachers into her 
house. 

The reaction initiated by Paul at Corinth against 
the forward position claimed by women in the 
churches, is carried on by the author of the pastoral 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 225 


epistles.t In 1 Tim. ii. 11 f. he peremptorily pro- 
hibits women from teaching.” Let them bear chil- 
dren and maintain faith, love, and holiness. The 
reason for this is explicitly stated ; it is because they 
are inferior to men. Adam was first formed, then 
Kve. It was Eve, not Adam, who was seduced by 
the serpent.? These sharp words presuppose serious 
encroachments on the part of Christian women, and 
already there had been unpleasant experiences with 
indolent, lascivious, and gossiping young widows 
(op. cit., v. 11 f.). As 2 Tim. i. 6 shows, it was 
specially common for such women to succumb to 
the seductions of fascinating errorists. 

One fresh feature in the pastoral epistles is that 
the existence of a class of ecclesiastical “‘ widows ” 
is taken for granted, and in this connection special 


1 Also by an earlier editor of Acts; cp. my remarks, op. cit., 
p. 10, note 5. Probably Clement of Rome is also to be included in 
this category. His exhortations to women (Clem. Rom., i. xxi.) 
are designed to restrict them within their households, and the 
same holds true of Polycarp (ad Phil. iv.), In the “Shepherd” of 
Hermas, women play no part whatsoever, which leads us to assume 
that they had fallen more into the background at Rome than 
elsewhere. 

2 Awdaokew yuvaixi ovx éemitpérw. This seems to conflict with 
Tit. ii. 3, where it is enjoined that mpeoBuridas elvar . . . . Kado- 
didacxddovs. We must take in the next clause, however (iva 
cwdpovilwow tas véas diAdydpous civat, piAoréKvous, «.7.A.), which 
shows that the writer does not mean teaching in the church. 

8 This voiced an idea which operated still further and was 
destined to prove disastrous to the Catholic church. Tertullian 
already writes thus (de cultu femin., I. i.): “ Evam te esse nescis ? 
vivit sententia dei super sexum istum in hoc seculo: vivat et 
reatus necesse est. tu es diaboli janua, tu es arboris illius resigna- 
trix, tu es divinae legis prima desertrix, tu es quae eum suasisti 
quem diabolus aggredi non valuit. tu imaginem dei, hominem, tam 
facile elisisti. propter tuum meritum, id est mortem, etiam filius dei 

VOL. II. 15 


226 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


instructions are laid down (1 Tim. v. 9 f.). Pliny’s 
letter to Trajan mentions Christian women who 
were called by their fellow-members “ deaconesses ” 
(ministrae), and there was also an order of regular 
female ascetics or ‘‘ virgines,” who are perhaps referred 
to as early as 1 Cor. vii. 36 f. The original relation 
between the church-widow, the deaconess (unknown 
in the Western church), and the “virgin,” lies in 
obscurity, but such directions show at any rate that 
ecclesiastical regulations for women were drawn up 
at a very early period. 

In the romantic but early Acta Pauli, women also 
played a prominent réle. Weare told of a prophetess 
in the church of Corinth, called Theonoé ! of Stratoniké 
(the wife of Apollophanes) at Philippi (who is thus 
the fourth woman mentioned by tradition in connec- 
tion with that city), of Artemilla at Ephesus, and 


mori habuit”’ (‘‘ Do you not know you are an Eve? God's verdict 
on the sex still holds good, and the sex’s guilt must still hold also, 
You are the devil’s gateway. You are the avenue to that forbidden 
tree. You are the first deserter from the law divine. It was you 
who persuaded him whom the devil himself had not strength to 
assail. So lightly did you destroy God’s image. For your deceit, 
for death, the very Son of God had to perish”). The figure of 
Mary the mother of Jesus rose all the more brilliantly as a foil 
to this. The wrong done, in this view, to the whole sex, was to 
be made good by the adoration paid to Mary. But it must not be 
forgotten, a@ propos of Tertullian’s revolting language, that his 
rhetoric frequently runs away with him. Elsewhere in the same 
book (II. i.) he writes: “Ancillae dei vivi, conservae et sorores 
meae, quo iure deputor vobiscum postremissimus equidem, eo iure 
conservitii et fraternitatis audeo ad vos facere sermonem” (“O 
handmaidens of the living God, my fellow-servants and sisters, the 
law that sets me, most unworthy, in your ranks, emboldens me as 
your fellow-servant to address you’’). 
1 So the Coptic text. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 227 


above all of the “apostle” Thecla at Iconium.' We 
are told that Thecla baptized herself, and that she 
proceeded to labour and to die as a missionary, “ after 
enlightenmg many with the word of God” (zoAXovs 
peticaca TH AOyw Ocov). It is unlikely that the 
romancer simply invented this figure. There must 
have really been a girl converted by Paul at Iconium, 
whose name was Thecla, and who took an active part 
in the Christian mission. As for the later apocryphal 
Acts of the Apostles, they simply swarm with tales of 
how women of all ranks were converted in Rome and 
in the provinces; and although the details of these 
stories are untrustworthy, they express correctly 
enough in general the truth that Christian preaching 
was laid hold of by women in particular, as also that 
the percentage of Christian women, especially among 
the upper classes, was larger than that of Christian 
men. ‘ Both sexes” (‘‘ utrius sexus ”) are emphasized 
as early as Pliny’s letter, and other opponents of the 
faith laid stress upon the fact that Christian preaching 
was specially acceptable to widows and to wives.’ 
This is further attested by the apologists, who have a 
penchant for bringing out the fact that the very 
Christian women, on account of whom Christianity 
is vilified as an inferior religion, are better acquainted 
with divine things than the philosophers.* 


1 Besides Lectra, Theocleia, Tryphena, and Falconilla, 

2 Cp. Celsus in Orig., c. Cels., III. xliv. Porphyry, too, still held 
this view (cp. Jerome, in Isai. 3, Brev. in Psalt. 82, and August., de 
civit. det, XIX. xxiii.) The woman whom Apuleius describes as 
abominable (Metam., ix. 14), seems to have been a Christian [see 
vol. i. p. 265]. 

3 So still Augustine, e.g., de civit dei, X. ii.: “ Difficile fuit tanto 
philosopho [se. Porphyry] cunctam diabolicam societatem vel nosse 


228 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Even after the middle of the second century women 
are still prominent, not only for their number and 
position as widows and deaconesses in the service of the 
church,’ but also as prophetesses and teachers. ‘The 
author of the Acta Theclae is quite in love with his 
Thecla. It never occurs to him to object to her as 
a teacher. He rather extols her, and his view even of 
the prophetess at Corinth has no element of blame in 
it. As we know from Tertullian that this author 
was a presbyter of Asia Minor, it follows that there 
were even ecclesiastics about the middle of the second 
century who did not disapprove of women teaching 
and doing missionary work. 

At Hierapolis in Phrygia the prophetic daughters 
of Philip enjoyed great esteem; Papias, amongst 
others, listened to their words. Not long after them 
there lived an Asiatic prophetess called Ammia, whose 
name was still mentioned with respect at the close of 
the second century (Eus., H.E., v. 17). The great 
Montanist movement in Phrygia, during the sixth 
decade of the second century, was evoked by the 
labours of Montanus and two prophetesses called 


vel fidenter arguere, quam quaelibet anicula Christiana nee cunct- 
atur esse et liberrime detestatur” (“ Hard was it for so great a 
philosopher to understand or confidently to assail the whole frater- 
nity of devils, which any Christian old woman would unhesitatingly 
describe and loathe with the utmost freedom’’). Women were 
also among the pupils of apologists and teachers, as is often noticed 
in the case of Origen. A woman called Charito belonged to the 
group of Justin’s pupils (Acta Justini, iv.). 

1 T refrain from entering into details regarding the services of 
women in the church, as we shall soon get a thorough study of this 
subject from a young scholar, my friend and pupil, Herr Zscharnack 
[since published under the title of Der Dienst der Frau in d. ersten 
Jahrh. der christ. Kirche, 1903}. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 229 


Maximilla and Priscilla.'| Later on, a prophetess 
known as Quintilla seems to have made her appear- 
ance in the same district,” while during the reign of 
Maximinus Thrax a certain prophetess caused a 
sensation in Cappadocia (cp. Firmilian, in Cypr., 
ep. xxv. 10). 

Among the gnostics especially® women played a 
great role, for the gnostic looked not to sex but to 
the Spirit. Marcion was surrounded by ‘“ sanctiores 
feminas.”* Apelles in Rome listened to the revela- 
tion of a virgin called Philumena (Tert., de praescr. 
xxx., etc.) Marcellina, the Carpocratian, came to 
Rome, and taught there. Marcus, the pupil of 
Valentinus and the founder of his sect, had a special 
number of women among his adherents, whom he even 
made pronounce the benediction, and consecrated as 
prophetesses, thereby leading many astray in Gaul.° 


! Tertullian (de anima, ix.) writes: “We have with us a sister 
who has had a share in the spiritual gifts of revelation. For in 
church, during the Sabbath worship, she undergoes ecstasies. She 
converses with angels, at times even with the Lord himself; she 
sees and hears mysteries, pierces the hearts of several people, and 
suggests remedies to those who desire them,” From Apost. Constit. 
(ep. Tewte u. Unters., v. part 5, p. 22) it is plain that in the case 
of the church-widows special endowments of grace were looked for, 
through the Spirit. 

2 Epiph., Her. xlix. But the personality is hazy. 

8 Leaving out of account, of course, the Helena of Simon Magus. 

* Jerome, ep. xliii. In his letter to Ctesiphon (see also on 2 Tim. 
iii. 6) he writes that ‘‘ Marcion dispatched a woman on before him 
to Rome, in order to prepare the minds of people for the reception 
of his own errors’’ ( Marcion Romam praemisit mulierem quae 
decipiendos sibi animos praepararet ”’). 

° Iren., i. 25: “ Multos exterminavit” (many she led away). 

6 Iren., i. 13, 2: yuvaikas edyapioteiy eyKeAeveTar tapecT@tos avTov 

.. «+ padwora rept yuvaikas doxoXcira1, Kal TovTo Tas evTapidous Kat 


230 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


And in general the women who belonged to the 
heretical societies are described’ by Tertullian as 
follows (de praescr. xli.): ‘ Ipsae mulieres haereticae, 
quam procaces! quae audeant docere, contendere, 
exorcismos agere, curationes repromittere, forsitan et 
tingere ” (“The very women of the heretics —how for- 
ward they are! Venturing to teach, to debate, to 
exorcise, to promise cures, probably even to baptize”). 

It was by her very opposition offered to gnosticism 
and Montanism that the church was led to interdict 
women from any activity within the church—apart, 
of course, from such services as they rendered to 
those of their own sex. ‘Tertullian’s treatise upon 
baptism (de baptismo) was called forth by the arrival 
at Carthage of a heretical woman who taught and in 
her teaching disparaged baptism. In commencing 
his argument, Tertullian observes that even had her 
teaching been sound, she ought not to have been a 
teacher. He then proceeds to attack those members 
of the church (for evidently there were such) who 
appealed to the case of Thecla in defending the right 
of women to teach and to baptize. First of all, 
he deprives them of their authority ; their Acts he 
declares are a forgery. Then he refers to 1 Cor. xiv. 
34 to prove that a woman must keep silence. Even 
as a Montanist, it is to be noted that Tertullian 
adhered to this position. ‘ Non permittitur mulieri 


Tepiroppipous Kal tAovowrTatas (“He bids women give thanks even 
in his presence .... he is most concerned about women, and 
that, too, women of rank and position and wealth’’), i. 13. 7: ev 
a Pee a / an ec } / \ Ey / a 

Tois Ka yas KAipact tis “Podavoveias rokdas eEnraTyKacr yuvaikas 
(“In our district of the Rhone they have deluded many women ”’). 
On the compulsory consecration of women to the prophetic office 

prop , 
till they actually felt they were prophetesses, see i. 13. 3. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 231 


in ecclesia loqui, sed nec docere, nec tingere, nec 
offerre, nec ullius virilis muneris, nedum sacerdotalis 
officii sortem sibi vindicare” (de ving. vel. ix.)* Even 
the female visionary in the Montanist church did not 
speak “till the ceremonies were done and the people 
dismissed ” (‘‘ post transacta solemnia dimissa plebe,” 
de anima ix.). 

Nevertheless women still continued to play a part 
in some of the subsequent movements throughout 
the church. Thus a sempstress in Carthage, called 
Paula, had to be excommunicated for agitating 
against Cyprian (ep. xlii.), whilst “that factious 
woman ” ( factiosa femina”) Lucilla was also respon- 
sible for poisoning the Carthaginian church with 
the Donatist controversy at the very outset (Optatus, 
i. 16). 3 

The number of prominent women who are described 
as either Christians themselves or favourably disposed 
to Christianity is extremely large.* In addition to 

1 «No woman is allowed to speak in church, or even to teach, 
or baptize, or discharge any man’s function, much less to take upon 
herself the priestly office.’ Tertullian frequently discusses the 
Christian problem of women in his writings; it occasioned many 
difficulties. Obviously at the bottom of the legend of the so-called 
« Apostolic Constitutions” on Martha and Mary—a legend which 
is dominated by conscious purpose—there lies the question 
whether or no any active part is to be assigned to women in the 
celebration of the Lord’s supper (cp. Teate u. Unters., ii. 5. (p. 28 f.): 
Ore ange 6 SiddoKaos Tov apTov Kal TO ToTHpLov Kat niAdynoe adTa 
Nywv: TodTd éoTt TO TGpa pov Kal TO aipa, ovK érérpefe Tals yuvaréi 
ovorivat ypiv (“ When the Lord asked for the bread and the cup 
and blessed them, saying, This is my body and my blood, he did 
not bid women associate themselves with us.’’). 

2 From Tertullian’s teatise de cultu feminarum, as well as from the 


Paedagogus of Clement, it becomes still more obvious that there 
were a considerable number of distinguished and wealthy women 


232 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


those already mentioned, mention may be made 
especially of Domitilla, the wife of T. Flavius 
Clemens; of Marcia, of Julia Mammea, of the 
consort of Philip the Arabian, of the distinguished 
Roman martyr Soter (of whom Ambrose was proud 
to be a relative), of the sisters Victoria, Secunda, and 
Restituta (who belonged to a senatorial family in 
Carthage), of the wife and daughter of the emperor 
Diocletian, of St Crispina “most noble and highly 
born” (‘clarissima, nobilis genere”). ‘Tertullian (ad 
Scap. iv., ete.) speaks of “clarissimae feminae,” 
and Christian “‘ matrons,” who were to be exiled, are 
mentioned in the second edict of Valerian. Origen 
emphasizes the fact that even titled ladies, wives of 
high  state-officials, embraced Christianity (c. Cels., 
III. ix.). The story of Pilate’s wife, who warned 
him against condemning Jesus (Matt. xxvii. 19), may 
be a legend, but it was typical in after-days of many 
an authentic case of the kind. ‘Tertullian tells us 
how “Claudius Lucius Herminianus in Cappadocia 


in the churches of Carthage and Alexandria. In the second book 
(c. i.) of the former work Tertullian declares that many Christian 
women dressed and went about just like ‘‘women of the world” 
(‘‘feminae nationum’’). There were even women who defended their 
finery and display on the ground that they would attract attention 
as Christians if they did not dress like other people (II. xi.) To 
which Tertullian replies (xiii.): “Ceterum nescio an manus spatalio 
circumdari solita in duritiam catenae stupescere sustineat. nescio an 
erus periscelio laetatum in nervum se patiatur artari. timeo cervicem, 
ne margaritarum et smaragdorum laqueis oecupata locum spathae non 
det” (“ Else I know not if the wrist, accustomed to be circled with 
a palmleaf bracelet, will endure the numb, hard chain. I know 
not if the ankle that has delighted in the anklet will bear the 
pressure of the gyves. I fear that the neck roped with pearls and 
emeralds will have no room for the sword’’). 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 233 


treated the Christians cruelly, in hot anger at his 
wife having gone over to this sect” (** Claudius L. H. 
in Cappadocia indigne ferens uxorem suam ad hance 
sectam transisse Christianos crudeliter tractavit,” ad 
Scap. iii.). Hippolytus narrates how some Christians 
who had gone out into the desert in an apocalyptic 
frenzy, would have been executed as robbers by a 
Syrian governor, had not his wife, being a believer 
(ova m7), interceded on their behalf (Comm. in Dan., 
iv. 18). Kusebius has preserved for us the story of 
the Christian wife of the prefect of Rome under 
Maxentius (H.E., viii. 14), who, like a second 
Lucretia, committed suicide in order to avoid dis- 
honour. And Justin (d4pol., II. u.) tells of a 
distinguished Roman lady who had herself divorced 
from a licentious husband. In all these cases the 
husband was a pagan, while the wife was a Christian.* 


' Cp. also Mart. Saturn. et Dativt (Ruinart, p. 417): “ Fortuna- 
tianus, sanctissimae martyris Victoriae frater, vir sane togatus, sed 
merehoionts Christianae ... . cultn .... . alienus” (“F., the 
brother of that most holy martyr, Victoria, was indeed a Roman 
citizen, but he was far from sharing in the worship of Christian 
religion”). In Porphyry’s treatise, 7 é« Aoylwy Pidocodia (cp. 
Aug., de civit dei, xix. 23), an oracle of Apollo is cited, which had 
been vouchsafed to a man who asked the god how to reclaim his 
wife from Christianity: ‘Forte magis poteris in aqua impressis 
litteris scribere aut adinflans leves pinnas per aera avis volare, quam 
pollutae revoces impiae uxoris sensum. pergat quo modo vult 
inanibus fallaciis perseverans et lamentari fallaciis mortuum deum 
cantans, quem iudicibus recta sentientibus perditum pessima in 
speciosis ferro vincta mors interfecit” (“ Probably you could more 
easily write on water or manage to fly on wings through the air 
like a bird, than win back to a right feeling the mind of your 
polluted impious spouse. Let her go where she pleases, sticking to 
her idle deceptions and singing false laments to her dead god, who 
was condemned by right-minded judges and who perished most 


234 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Neither in the pre-Decian period nor in subsequent 
years was there any difference made between men 
and women in a persecution. ‘This is one of the best- 
established facts in the history of early Christianity. 
Consequently the number of female martyrs was, 
comparatively speaking, very large. ‘Thecla passed 
as the first of these, though it was said that she 
was miraculously preserved. After her, in the ranks 
of women martyrs, were reckoned Domitilla and 
Agnes in Rome, Blandina in Lyons, Agathonicé in 
Pergamum, Donata, Secunda, and Vesta at Scili, 
Potamiena, Quinta, Apollonia, | Ammonarion, 
Mercuria, and Dionysia in Alexandria, Perpetua and 
Felicitas at Carthage, Dionysia in Lampsacus, 
Domnina [Donuina] and Theonilla’ in Aegea, 
Kulalia in Spain, and Afra in Augsburg. But it 
would lead us too far afield to enumerate even the 
women of whom we have authentic information as 
having suffered martyrdom or exile, or having 
abandoned lives of vice. They displayed no less 
degree of fortitude and heroism than did the men, 
nor did the church expect from them any inferior 


ignominiously by a violent death’). The difficulties met by a 
Christian woman with a pagan husband are dramatically put by 
Tertullian, ad wvor., ii. 4 f. (partly quoted above, vol. i. pp. 479 f.). 
Cases in which the husband was a Christian, while his wife was 
pagan, or nominally Christian, must have been infrequent; ep., 
however, the Acta Marciani et Nicandri and the Acta Irenaei (above, 
vol. i. pp. 492 f.). 

1 Theonilla (Ruinart, Acta Mart., p. 311) describes herself as a 
“woman of good birth” (‘ingenua mulier”’). When she had to let 
herself be stripped before the magistrate, she declared, “'Thou hast 
put shame not on me alone, but through me, on thine own mother 
and thy wife” (“non me solam, sed et matrem tuam et uxorem 
confusionem induisti per me’’). 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 235 


response. In her commemoration of the martyrs, 
she even reckoned these triumphant women worthy 
of double honour. 

In the last persecution (that of Licinius) another 
extremely remarkable prohibition was put in force, 
relating to women. ‘The emperor decreed that (1) 
men and women were not to worship together; that 
(2) women were never to enter places of worship ; and 
(3) that women were to be taught religion by women 
_ only, instead of by bishops (Euseb., Vita Const., 1. 
Jii.). The reasons for these orders (which were 
“generally derided”) remain obscure. Concern for 
feminine morality cannot have been anything but 
a pretext. But what then, it may be asked, was 
their real motive? Are we at liberty to infer from 
the decree that the emperor considered Christianity 
derived its strength from women ? 

It remains to say something about the mixed 
marriages, which Paul had discussed at an earlier 
period (see above, pp. 217 f.). The apostle did not 
desire their dissolution. On the contrary, he directed 
the Christian spouse to adhere to the union and to 
hope for the conversion of the pagan partner. But 
Paul was certainly assuming that the marriage was 
already consummated by the time that one of the 
partners became a Christian." Not until a com- 


1 It is a moot point whether 1 Cor. vii. 39 (pdvov év kupiw) 
definitely excludes the marriage of a Christian woman with a pagan. 
Despite Tertullian’s opinion and the weighty support of those 
exegetes who advocate this interpretation, I am unable to agree 
with it. Had the apostle desired to exclude such unions, he would 
have said so explicitly, I imagine, and referred to the case of a 
husband as well as of a wife. Or can it be that he is merely 
forbidding a Christian woman to marry a pagan, and not forbidding 


236 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


paratively late period do we hear of marriages being 
concluded between Christians and pagans.’ At first, 
and for some time to come, these unions were never 
formed at all, or formed extremely seldom; but 
often by the close of the second century it was no 
longer an unheard-of thing for such mixed marriages 
to take place. ‘Tertullian wrote the whole of the 
second book in his treatise ad wxorem in order to 
warn his wife against marrying a pagan, if she became 
a widow; and in the first and second chapters he 
expressly states that such unions were being con- 
summated. He not merely looks askance at them, 
but most severely reprobates them ( “‘fideles gentilium 
matrimonia subeuntes stupri reos esse constat et 
arcendos ab omni communicatione fraternitatis,” 1i1).” 
To his sorrow, however, he has to record the recent 
utterance of one brother, who maintained that while 
marriage with a pagan was certainly an offence, it 
was a very trivial offence. 


a Christian man to choose a pagan girl? This is not impossible, 
and yet such an issue is improbable. The povoy év kupiw (“ only 
in the Lord”’) means that the Christian standpoint of the married 
person is to be maintained, but this could be preserved intact even 
in the case of marriage with a pagan (cp. vii. 16). Besides, the 
presupposition naturally is that the Christian partner is desirous and 
capable of winning over the pagan. 

1 Ignatius (ad Polyc., v.) gives a decision in the matter of divorce, 
but clearly he is only thinking of marriages in which both parties 
are Christians. No other cases seem to have come under his notice. 

2 «Jt is agreed that believers who marry pagans are guilty of 
fornication, and are to be excluded from any intercourse with the 
brotherhood” ; ep. de corona xiii. : “ Ideo non nubemus ethnicis, ne 
nos ad idololatriam usque deducant, a qua apud illos nuptiae 
incipiunt”’ (“ Therefore we do not marry pagans, lest they lead us 
astray into that idolatry which is the very starting-point of their 
nuptials”), The allusion is to the pagan ceremonies at a wedding. 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 237 


On this subject the church was at first inclined to 
side with the rigorists. In his Testimonia, Cyprian 
devotes a special section (iii. 62) to the rule that 
“no marriage-tie is to be formed with pagans” 
(“matrimonium cum gentilibus non iungendum ”),' 
while it was ordained at the synod of Elvira (canon 
xv.) that ‘because Christian maidens are very 
numerous, they are by no means to be married off 
to pagans, lest their youthful prime presume and 
relax into an adultery of the soul” ( propter 
copiam puellarum gentilibus minime in matrimonium 
dandae sunt virgines Christianae, ne aetas in flore 
tumens in adulterium animae resolvatur”). See also 
canons xvi. and xvi. (“If heretics are unwilling to 
come over to the Catholic church, they are not to 
be allowed to marry Catholic girls. Resolved also, 
that neither Jews nor heretics be allowed to marry 
such, since there can be no fellowship between a 
believer and an unbeliever. Any parents who 
disobey this interdict shail be excluded from the 
church for five years” (‘ Haeretici si se transferre 
noluerint ad ecclesiam catholicam, ne ipsis catholicas 
dandas esse puellas; sed neque Judaeis neque 
haereticis dare placuit, eo quod nulla possit esse 
societas fideli cum infidele: si contra interdictum 


1 The passage in de lapsis vi. is evidence, of course, that the 
church could not always interfere ; at any rate she did not instantly 
excommunicate offenders. In the gloomy picture drawn by Cyprian 
(de lapsis vi.) of the condition of the Carthaginian church before 
the Decian persecution, mixed marriages do not fail to form one 
feature of the situation (“ Jungere cum infidelibus vinculum matri- 
monii, prostituere gentilibus membra Christi’? = Matrimonial ties 
are formed with unbelievers, and Christ’s members prostituted to 
the pagans). 


238 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


fecerint parentes, abstineri per quinquennium placet ”). 
‘Should any parents have married their daughters 
to heathen priests, resolved that they shall never 
be granted communion” (‘‘Si qui forte sacerdotibus 
idolorum filias suas iunxerint, placuit nec in finem eis 
dandam esse communionem ”).' 

“Because Christian girls are very numerous” 
(‘“‘ propter copiam puellarum ”). ‘This implies that girls, 
especially of good position, outnumbered youths in the 
Christian communities. Hence Tertullian had already 
advised Christian girls who possessed property to 
marry poor young men (ad wxor., II. vi.). Why, 
he exclaims, many a pagan woman gives her hand 
to some freedman or slave, in defiance of public 
opinion, so long as she can get a husband from whom 
she need not fear any check upon her loose behaviour ! 
These words were in all probability read by Callistus, 
the Roman bishop; for even in Rome there must 
have been a great risk of Christian girls, in good 
positions, either marrying pagans or forming illicit 
connections with them, when they could not find any 
Christian man of their own rank, and when they 
were unwilling to lose caste by marrying any Chris- 
tian beneath them. Consequently Callistus declared 
that he would allow such women to take a slave or 
free man, without concluding a legal marriage with 
him. Such sexual unions he would be willing (for 
ecclesiastical considerations) to recognize (Hipp., 


1 At the synod of Arles (which really does not belong, however, 
to our period) the church had already become more lenient than at 
Elvira ; cp. canon xi. : “ De puellis fidelibus, qui gentilibus iunguntur, 
placuit, ut aliquanto tempore a communione separentur” (“Con- 
cerning Christian maidens who have married pagans. Resolved, 
that they be excluded from communion for a certain period’’), 


INWARD SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY 239 


Philos., ix. 12; cp. above, vol. i. pp. 211-212). The 
church thus created an ecclesiastical law of marriage * 
as opposed to the civil, and she did so under the 
constraint of circumstances. ‘These circumstances of 
the situation in which she saw herself placed, arose 
from the fact of Christian girls within the church 
outnumbering the youths, the indulgence of Callistus 
itself proving unmistakably that the female element 
in the church, so far as the better classes were con- 
cerned, was in the majority. 


! Hippolytus notices the untoward results of this extremely 
questionable dispensation, 


CHAPTER III. 


THE EXTENSION OF CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 
325 A.D. 


In this chapter I shall adhere strictly to the limits 
indicated by the title, excluding any place which 
cannot actually be verified until after 325 a.p. 
Owing to the fortuitous character of the traditions at 
our disposal, it is indubitable that many, indeed very 
many, places at which it is impossible to prove that 
a Christian community existed previous to the council 
of Nicea, may nevertheless have contained such 
a community, and even a bishopric, although no one 
can tell with any certainty what such places were. 
Besides, although unquestionably the age of Con- 
stantine was not an era, so far as regards the East, 
during which a very large number of new bishoprics 
were created—since in not a few provinces the net- 
work of the ecclesiastical hierarchy appears to have 
been already knit so fast and firm that what was 
required was not the addition of new meshes but 
actually, in several cases, the removal of one or two’ 

1 I should take it as incontrovertible, with regard to the pro- 
vinces of Asia Minor, that the network there was firm and fast by 
the time of Constantine. ‘There were about four hundred local 
bishoprics by the end of the fourth century, so that if we can 
prove, despite the scantiness and fortuitous nature of the sources, 


close upon one hundred and fifty for the period before 325 a.p., it 
240 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 241 


—despite all this, it is certain that a large number of 
new Christian communities did come then into being. 
In the West a very large number of bishoprics, as 
well as of churches, were founded during the fourth 
century, and the Christianizing of not a few provinces 
now commenced upon a serious scale (cp. Sulp. 
Severus, Chron., 11. 33: ‘Hoc temporum tractu 
mirum est quantum invaluerit religio Christiana” = 
during this period the Christian religion increased 
at an astonishing rate). As for the extent to which 
Christianity spread throughout the various provinces, 
while the following pages will exhibit all that really 
can be stated on this point, no evidence available 
upon the number of the individual churches (or 
bishoprics) would render it feasible to draw up any 
accurate outline of the general situation, inasmuch 
as our information is superior regarding some pro- 
vinces, inferior in quantity as regards others, and 
first-rate as regards none. Had I drawn the limit at 
381 A.D., or even at. 343 4a.D., a much more complete 
conspectus could be furnished. But in that case we 
would have had to abandon our self-imposed task of 
determining how far Christianity had spread by the 
time that Constantine extended to it toleration and 
special privileges.‘ For the purpose of surveying the 
localities where Christian communities can be proved 


becomes highly probable that the majority of these four hundred 
were in existence by that time. This calculation is corroborated 
by the fact that during the fourth century Asia Minor yields 
evidence of the chor-episcopate being vigorously repressed and 
dissolved, but rarely of new bishoprics being founded. 

1 One of the most important aids to this task is the list of 
signatures to the council of Niczea in 325 a.p., an excellent critical 
edition of which has recently appeared (Patrum Nicaenorum nomina 

YOL, I, 


242 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


to have existed before 325 a.p., I shall begin by 
presenting two lists which give the places where 
there were Christian communities before Trajan (or 
Commodus).' 

* JT. Places in which Christian communities or Chris- 
tians can be traced as early as the first century (pre- 
vious to 'Trajan).” 


latine, graece, coptice, syriace, arabice, armeniace, by H. Gelzer, 
Hilgenfeld, and O. Cunitz; Leipzig, 1898; see also the edition by 
C. H. Turner, Oxford, 1899). The number of bishops in attendance 
at Niceea (which, according to Eusebius, our best witness, ex- 
ceeded two hundred and fifty) gives no clue to the spread of the 
episcopate, let alone the Christian religion, for extremely few 
bishops were present from Europe and North Africa, and a large 
number even from the East failed to put in an appearance. The 
assertion made by the Eastern sources that over two thousand 
clergy were present, is credible, but immaterial.—Cumont’s remark 
upon the Christian inscriptions of the East is unfortunately to the 
point: “Je ne sais s'il existe une catégorie de textes épigraphiques, 
qui soit plus mal connue aujourd hui que les inscriptions chrétiennes 
de lempire d’ Orient” (Les Inscr. chrét. de [Asie mineure, Rome, 
1895, p. 5). 

1 I content myself with a mere enumeration, as the subsequent 
section, arranged according to provinces, gives a sketch of the spread 
and increase of Christianity in the respective provinces. In this 
chapter I have not entered, of course, into the special details of the 
history of this spread throughout the provinces, a task for which we 
need the combined labours of specialists, archeologists and architects, 
while every large province requires a staff of scholars to itself, such 
as North Africa has found among the French savants. This will 
remain for years, no doubt, a pious hope. Yet even the investiga- 
tions conducted by individuals has already done splendid service for 
the history of provincial and local churches in antiquity. Beside 
de Rossi stand Le Blant and Ramsay. ‘The modest pages which 
follow, and which I almost hesitate to publish, will serve their 
purpose if they provide a sketch of the general contour, which is 
accurate in its essential features. 

» 2 Note how not only Acts but also Paul at an earlier period 
groups together the Christians of individual provinces, showing that 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 


Jerusalem. 

Damascus (Acts ix.). 

Samaria (Acts viii. ; also Samari- 
tan villages, ver. 25). 

Lydda (Acts ix.). 

Joppa (Acts ix.). 

Saron (Acts ix.). 

Cesarea-Palest. (Acts x.). 

Antioch in Syria (Acts xi., etc.). 

Tyre {Acts xxi.). 

Sidon (Acts xxvii.). 

Ptolemais (Acts xxi.). 

mr ella (Eus., .E., Til. v.; for 
other localities 
where even at an early period 
Jewish Christians resided, see 
under III. i., Palestina). 

Tarsus (Acts ix., xi., xv.). 

Salamis in Cyprus (Acts xiii.). 

Paphos in Cyprus (Acts xiii.). 

Perga in Pamphylia (Acts xiii., 
xiv.). 

Antioch in Pisidia (Acts xiv.). 

Iconium (Acts xiii.—xiv.). 

Lystra (Acts xiv.). 

Derbe (Acts xiv.). 

Unnamed localities in Galatia 
(Gall, 1 Peg.:ii°1)i 


Palestinian 


243 


Unnamed localities in Cappa- 
docia (1 Pet. i. 1). 

Ephesus (Acts, Paul’s epp.) 

Colosse (Paul’s ep.). 

Laodicea (Paul’s ep.). 

Hierapolis in Phrygia (Paul’s 
ep:). 

Smyrna (Apoc. John). 

Pergamum (Apoc. John). 

Sardis (Apoc. John). 

Philadelphia in Lydia (Apoc. 
John). 

Thyatira in Lydia (Apoe. John). 

Troas (Acts xvi., xx.; Paul’s epp.). 

Philippi in Macedonia (Acts 
xvi.; Paul’s epp.). 

Thessalonica (Acts xvii. ; Paul’s 
epp.). 

Berea in Macedonia (Acts xvii. ; 
Paul’s epp.). 

Athens (Acts xvii. ; Paul’s ep.). 

Corinth (Acts xviii. ; Paul’s epp.). 

Cenchree, near Corinth (Paul’s 
ep.). 

Crete (ep. to Titus). 

Rome (Acts xxvii. f. ; Paul’s epp. ; 
Apoc. John.).? 

Puteoli (Acts xxviii.).° 





several churches must have already existed in each of the following 
provinces : Judea, Samaria, Syria, Cilicia, Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, 
and Achaia, 

1 Grand-nephews of Jesus (grandchildren of his brother Judas), 
whom Domitian wanted to call to book (according to the tale of 
Hegesippus), lived in Palestine as peasants, 

2 Babylon (1 Pet. v. 13) is probably Rome. 
~ 3 The trace of Christianity said to have been found at Pompeii 
on a mutilated inscription (HRICTIAN ?) is uncertain.—It cannot 
be proved that Christians existed at this period in the towns 
mentioned by Acts but omitted from the above list (e.g., Ashdod in 
Philistia, Seleucia, Attalia in Pamphylia, Amphipolis, Apollonia, 
Assus, Malta, Mitylene, Miletus, etc.).  Nicopolis (in Epirus) is 


244 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Spain.! Alexandria (no direct evidence, 
Several churches in Bithynia and but the fact is certainly to be 
Pontus (1 Pet. i. 1; Pliny’s ep. inferred from later allusions). 


to Trajan).? 

During Trajan’s reign, then, Christianity had 
diffused itself as far as the shores of the Tyrrhenian 
sea, perhaps even as far as Spain itself. Its head- 
quarters lay in Antioch, on the western and north- 
western shores of Asia Minor, and at Rome, where, 
as in Bithynia, it had already raised the attention of 
the authorities. |‘ Cognitiones de _ Christianis,” 
judicial proceedings against Christians, were afoot in 
the metropolis, and Nero, Domitian, and Trajan had 
taken action with reference to the new movement. 
A propos of Rome in Nero’s reign, Tacitus speaks of 
a ‘“multitudo ingens,” while Pliny employs still 
stronger terms in reference to Bithynia, and Ignatius 
(ad Ephes. iti.) describes the Christian bishops as cara 
Ta Tépata opicbertes, ‘settled in the outskirts of the 
earth.” Decades ago the new religion had also pene- 
trated the imperial court, and even the Flavian house 
itself. 

II. Places where Christian communities can be 


mentioned in Tit. iii. 12, Illyria in Rom. xv. 19, and Dalmatia in 
2 Tim. iv. 10. Domitilla was banished to the island of Pontia or 
Pandataria.—I ignore, as uncertain, all the place-names which 
occur only in apocryphal Acts, together with all provinces and 
countries described there and nowhere else as districts in which 
missions are said to have existed as early as the apostolic age. 

1 It is a matter of controversy whether Paul carried out his 
design (Rom. xv. 24, 28) of doing missionary work in Spain. To 
judge from Clem. Rom. v. and the Muratorian fragment, I think it 
probable that he did. See also Acta Petri (Vercell.), vi. 

2 Ramsay (Z'he Church in the Roman Empire, 1893, pp. 211, 235) 
shows the likelihood of Amisus having contained Christians at this 


period, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 245 


traced before 180 A.D. (2.e. before the death of 
Marcus Aurelius). 


To those noted under I., the following have to be 
added : 


A number of churches in the , Tralles in Caria (Ignatius).! 
environs of Syrian Antioch | Philomelium in Pisidi (Mart. 
(Ignat., ad Philad., 10), whose Polyc.). 
names are unknown, though | Parium in Mysia (probably, acc. 


one thinks of Seleucia in to the Acta Oseniphori). 
particular (ep. Acta Pauli): a | Nicomedia (Dionys. Cor., in 
number of churches in the Hus, cl Es AV. 25-). 


environs of Smyrna (Ireneeus, | Otrusin Phrygia (anti-Montanist, 
in Eus., H.E., v. 20. 8), and in Eus., H.E., v. 16).? 
many Asiatic churches (ibid., | Hieropolis in Phrygia (probably, 





v. 24). ace. to the inscription of 
Edessa (Julius Africanus, Bar- Abercius). 
desanes, etc.). Pepuza in Phrygia (Apollonius, 
Churches in Mesopotamia or on in Eus., H.E., v. 18). 
the lower Tigris (see below, | Tymion (= Dumanli?) in Phrygia 
under III.). (abid. ). 
Melitene (where the local legion, | [Ardaban = Kapdafsa?] ev 7H xara 
the “ Thundering,” contained tiv Ppvyiav Muoia (Anti- 
a large number of Christians, Montanist, in Eus., H.F., v. 16; 
as is proved by the miracle see Ramsay’s Phrygia, p. 573. 
of the rain, narrated by Eus. Only known to us as the birth- 
o 4,,mntithe | reign of + M. place of Montanus). 
Aurelius). Apamea in Phrygia (Eus., v. 16). 
Magnesia, on the Meander | Cumane in Phrygia (Eus., v. 16). 
(1gnatius). Eumenea in Phrygia (Eus., v. 16). 


1 Possibly we may venture, without undue temerity, to reckon 
Magnesia and Tralles among the churches which were founded 
previous to Trajan’s reign. 

2 Ramsay (St Paul the Traveller, etc., third ed., 1897, pp. vii. f.): 
““ Christianity spread with marvellous rapidity at the end of the 
first and in the second century in the parts of Phrygia that lay 
along the road from Pisidian Antioch to Ephesus, and in the 
neighbourhood of Iconium, whereas it did not become powerful in 
those parts of Phrygia that adjoined North Galatia till the fourth 
century.” 


246 EXPANSION OF 


Ancyra in Galatia! (Eus., v. 16). | 

Sinope (Hippol., in Epiph., H@r., 
xi): 

Amastris in Pontus (Dionys. Cor., 
in Eus,, HUE, iv. 23). 

Debeltum in Thracia (Serapion, | 
in Eus., v. 19). 

Anchialus in Thracia (zbid.).? 

Larissa in Thessaly (Melito, in 
Eus., iv. 26). 

Lacedemon (Dionys. 
Kus., H.£., iv. 23). 

Cnossus in Crete (cbrd.). 

Gorthyna in Crete (2bzd.).° 

Samé in Cephallene (Clem. 
Alex., Strom., III. ii. 5). 


Cor., 


in 





A number of churches in Egypt 
(cp. Iren., i. 10, the activity of | 


CHRISTIANITY 


Basilides and Valentinus there, 
and retrospective inferences : 
details in III.). 

Naples (catacombs).* 

Syracuse (catacombs, but not 
absolutely certain). 

Lyons (epistle of local church 
in Eus., v. 1 f.; Irenzus), 

Vienna (Eus., v. 1 f.). 


Carthage (certain inferences 
retrospectively from  Ter- 
tullian). 


Madaura in Numidia (martyrs). 

Scilli in North Africa (martyrs). 

Churches in Gaul (among the 
Celts; Iren.). 

Churches in Germany (Iren.).° 

Churches in Spain (Iren.). 


Already there were Christians in all the Roman 
provinces, and in fact beyond the limits of the Roman 


empire. 


And already the majority of these Christians 


comprised a great union, which assumed a consolidated 


shape and polity about the 


year 180. 


III. A list of places where Christian communities — 
can be shown to have existed previous to 325 a.D. 


(the council of Nicza) ; 


together with some brief 


account of the spread of Christianity throughout the 


various provinces. 


1 Myra in Lycia perhaps had a Christian community (ep. Acta 


Pauli). 


2 Byzantium, too, had probably a church of its own (ep. Hippol., 
Philos., vii. 35; perhaps one should also refer to Tert., ad Seap., iii.). 

3 See the following chapter for a discussion of the possibility of 
proving that Christians existed in Cyrene before 180 a.p, 

* Clement (Strom., I. i. 11) met with Christian teachers in Greater 


Greece. 


5 So that perhaps Cologne (possibly Mainz also?) had a church. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 247 


§ 1. PALESTINE. 


The first steps in the diffusion of the gospel 
throughout Palestine (Syria-Palestina) are described, 
though merely in their characteristic traits, by the 
Acts of the Apostles, whose narrative I presuppose 
as quite familiar to my readers. From the outset 
it was Jerusalem and not the towns of Galilee, as one 
might imagine, that formed the centre of Christen- 
dom in Palestine. It was in Jerusalem that James, 
the Lord’s brother,’ took over the government of the 
church, after the twelve disciples had finally come to 
see that their vocation meant the mission-enterprise 
of Christianity (probably twelve years after the 
resurrection, as one early tradition has it, and not 
immediately after the resurrection).” He, in turn, 
was succeeded (60/61 or 61/62) by another relative of 
Jesus, namely, his cousin Simeon, the son of Cleopas, 
who was martyred under Trajan at the great age of 
120. Thereafter, according to an early tradition, 
thirteen bishops of Jerusalem covered the period 
between (the tenth year of?) ‘Trajan and_ the 
eighteenth year of Hadrian. This statement* cannot 
be correct, and the likelihood is that presbyters are 
included in the list. All these bishops were circum- 
cised persons, which proves that the church was 
Jewish Christian—as indeed is attested directly 
for the apostolic age by Paul’s epistles and the book of 
- Acts (xxi. 20). It cannot, however, have adhered to 

1 His episcopal chair was still shown in the days of Eusebius 
(H.E., viii. 19). 

2 Details in my Chronologie, i. pp. 129 f., 218 f. 


8 Zahn’s (Forschungen, vi. 300) idea is that the number includes 
the names of contemporary bishops throughout Palestine. 


248 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the extreme claims of the Jewish Christians ; that is, 
if any basis of fact, however late, underlies the 
decision of Acts xv. 28 f. At the first investment of 
Jerusalem the Christians forsook the city (Kus., AL., 
ii. 5, and Epiph., Her., xxix. 7, after Hegesippus or 
Julius Africanus), and emigrated to Pella; it was 
only a small number who eventually returned after 
the city had once more risen from its ruins." In any 
case, the local church was small. We have no means 
of ascertaining its previous size, but the exodus of 
68 A.D. precludes any large estimate.” All we know 
is that it comprised priests (Acts vi. 7), Pharisees 
(xv. 5), and Greek-speaking Jews from the Diaspora 
(vi. 5), and that it was not rich.? It disappeared 
completely, after Hadrian, on the conclusion of the 
war with Barcochba, had prohibited any circumcised 
person to so much as set foot within the city. 

The new pagan city of Aelia Capitolina, founded 
on the site of Jerusalem, never attained any great 
importance.’ Gentile Christians, however, at once 

1 This is clearly brought out by Epiph., Har., xxix. 7. 

2 Eusebius and Epiphanius (or their authorities) explicitly assert 
that all the Christians of Jerusalem withdrew to Pella. The state- 
ments of Acts (ii. 41, 47; iv. 4; vi. 7) upon the increase and size 
of the church at Jerusalem are dubious. The “myriads” of 
Christians mentioned in xxi. 20 are not simply Jerusalemites, but 
also foreigners who had arrived for the feast. 

3 Cp. the collection for Jerusalem, which Paul promoted so 
assiduously. Gal. ii. 10 is a passage which will always serve as a 
strong proof that the name “Ebionite” is not derived from a 
certain “ Ebion,” but was given to Jewish Christians on account of 
their poverty. (As against Hilgenfeld, and. Dalman: Werte Jesu, 
1898, p. 42; Eng. trans., pp. 52, 53). 

4 Cp. Mommsen’s Rom. Geschichte, v. p. 546 [Eng. trans., ii. 225]: 
“The new city of Hadrian continued to exist, but it did not 
prosper.” 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 249 


settled there, and the date at which the first Gentile 
Christian bishop (Marcus) entered on his duties is 
fixed by Eusebius, on a reliable tradition, as the nine- 
teenth year of Hadrian’s reign, or one year after the war 
had ended. But before we put together the known 
facts regarding the church at Jerusalem, we must 
consider the spread of Jewish Christianity through- 
out Palestine. 

“Churches in Judea” are mentioned by Paul in 
Gal. i. 22 (cf. Acts xi. 29), and in 1 Thess. ii. 14 he 
writes: vuets myuntar éeyernOyte Tov éxkAnoLwv Tov Oeod Tay 
ouc@v ev TH "Tovdata év Xpirro "Iyoov, 67t Ta avta érabete 
Kat vets UTO TV loLwy cTuupureTor, KaQws Kat avTot vo 
tov “lovdatwy, In Acts we hear of churches on the 
‘seaboard, in Galilee and in Samaria. The larger 
part of these were Hellenized during the following 
century and passed over into the main body of 
Christendom." When we ask what became of the 


1 Till then the brothers and relatives of Jesus (who took part 
in the Christian mission; cp. 1 Cor. ix. 5) played a leading réle 
also in these Christian communities outside Jerusalem; as may be 
inferred even from the epistle of Africanus to Aristides (Eus., H.E., 
i. 7), where we are told how the relatives of Jesus from Nazareth 
and Kochaba dispersed over the country (79 Aoury yf éxupoirycavres), 
and how they bore the title of dexrdcvvan (§ 14). The tradition of 
Hegesippus is quite clear. He begins by recounting that oi zpéds 
yevous kata cdpKxa Tod Kupiov (Eus., H.E., iii. 11: “Those who were 
related to the Lord in the flesh”) met after the death of James to 
elect his successor (“for the greater number of them were still 
alive,” wAcious yap Kai TovTwy Tepinoay cioére TOTE TH BiG). Then he 
tells of two grandsons of Jude, the brother of Jesus, who were 
brought before Domitian (iii. 19, 20). And finally he states that, 
after being released by Domitian, they “ruled over the churches, 
inasmuch as they were both witnesses and also relations of the 
Lord” (iii. 20. 8: rods drohvbévras Hynoacbat TOV éxxAnoLdv, dodv Si) 
pdptupas pod Kal aro yevous dvTas Tod Kupiov); ep. also iii. 32. 6: 


250 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Jewish Christians who could not agree to this 
transition,’ we are obliged to cast back for a moment 
to the removal of the Christian community from 
Jerusalem. Eusebius writes as follows (H.E., iii. 5): 
Tou Naov THs eV ‘Teporodvpors éekkAyolas KaTa TWA XpnT mov 
Tois avToOr OoKkimow dv amrokadryews exooVervTa 7 po TOU 
ToNemou pmeTavacTHvul THe TOAEwWS Kal TIA THS Tlepaias 
mwoAwy otkety KexeANevouevou, IléX\XNav adryy ovop“acoucw, TwY Els 
Xpirov wemictevxotwy aro Tihs “lepoveadjm peT@Kiopever, 
«7. (The people belonging to the church at 
Jerusalem had been ordered by an oracle revealed to 
approved men on the spot before the war broke out, 
to leave the city and dwell in a town of Pera called 
Pella. Then after those who believed in Christ had 
withdrawn thither,” etc.). Epiphanius writes thus 
(Her., XXI1X. a)5 éoTl O€ avTy 7 aipeots 7 NaCwpator ev TH 
Bepotatov Trept thy Koidny Lupiar, Kal éV T™ AexazroXet Trept Ta 
rns LléeAXns MEPs kat ev TH Bacavirwe TH eyouevy KoxaBy, 
XwpaBy oe ‘EBpacrt Neyouevy * exeiOey yup 7 apxy yeyove 
peTa Thy ATO ‘lepovcadipov petactacw TavTwv Tov wabyTay 


a - 4 
ev ILé\An wxnxotov, Xpictod dyjcavtos Katarina Ta 


épxovTar ovv Kal TponyotvTar Tacs éexkANolas WS PapTUPES Kal ad yévous 
Tod kuptov (“So they come and assume the leadership in every 
church as witnesses and relatives of the Lord”). This statement 
about ruling is vague, but it is hardly possible to take zpoyyotvrat 
merely as denoting a general position of honour. Probably 
they too had the rank of “apostles” in the Christian churches ; 
in 1 Cor. ix. 5, at any rate, Paul groups them with the latter as 
missionaries. 

1 A priori it is likely that there were also Jewish Christians 
who spoke Greek (and Greek alone). And this follows from the 
fact that a Greek version of the gospel according to the Hebrews 
existed during the second century. Outside Palestine and the 
neighbouring provinces (including Egypt), Jewish Christians who 
held aloof from the main body of the church were, in all likelihood, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 251 


‘Teporo\vma Kal avaxyopnaat Ov iv iyueXrXe Tarxew TroNLopKtay, 
Kal €K TIS ToLAUTNS vTrolerews THY ITepatay OlKnocayTes eKELTE ws 
pay der ptBov (** Now this sect of the Nazarenes exists 
in Bercea in Coele-Syria, and in Decapolis in the 
district of Pella, and in Kochaba of Basanitis— 
called Khoraba in Hebrew. For thence it originated 
after the migration from Jerusalem of all the disciples 
who resided at Pella, Christ having instructed them 
to leave Jerusalem and retire from it on account of 
the impending siege. It was owing to this counsel 
that they went away, as I have said, to reside for a 
while at Pella”). Also HMar., xxx. 2: eedy yap 
TayTEs ot els Xpirrov TETIOTEUKOTES Thy [lepaiay KaT EKELVO 
Kal ou KATOKNTAY, TO TA€ioToY eV Tlé\Ay Tit Toe KaNounevy 
tae AexaTroXcws THs ev TO evaryyerto Veypaumerys, aAnolov 
tis Baravatas cat Bacavitios XHpas, TO TyviKaUTa éKel 
METAVATTAYTWV. Kal eKEioe vat piPovrav auto”, yeyovey eK 
TOUTOU mpopacts To "EBiwv. Kal apxXeTat ev Thy KaTolknow 
exew ev KoxaBy TW KOM emTl TU mépn TNS Kapvain, "A pveu 


Kat "Acrapod, ev TH Bacavirw XOPAs ws 4 €\Oovca es nuas 


so few during the second century that we need take no account of 
them in this connection. Jerome (ep. ad Aug. 112, c. 13) does 
assert that Nazarenes were to be found in every Jewish synagogue 
throughout the East. ‘“ What am I to say about the Ebionites who 
allege themselves to be Christians? To this day the sect exists in 
all the synagogues of the Jews, under’ the title of ‘the Minim’; 
while the Pharisees still curse it, and the people dub its adherents 
‘ Nazarenes, ”’ etc. (“ Quid dicam de Hebionitis, qui Christianos esse 
_se simulant ? usque hodie per totas orientis synagogas inter Judaeos 
heresis est, quae dicitur Minaeorum et a Pharisaeis nune usque 
damnatur, quos vulgo Nazaraeos nuncupant’’). But this statement 
is to be accepted with great caution. Jewish Christianity also got 
the length of India (=South Arabia or perhaps the Axumite king- 
dom, Eus., H.FE., x. 3; Socrat., i. 19; Philostorgius, ii. 6), as well as 
Rome. But its circles there were quite insignificant. 


252 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


yvoow Teprexec [Meaning that the Nazarenes also were 
to be looked for there]. id) de mor kai ev adore 
oyous . . . . Tept THS ToToecias KaoxaBwv Kai  Tijs 
"ApaBias dua mAarous etpyra (“For when all who 
believed in Christ had settled down about that time 
in Perea, the majority of the emigrants taking up 
their abode at Pella, a town belonging to the 
Decapolis mentioned in the gospel, near Batanea 
and the district of Basanitis, Ebion got his excuse 
and opportunity. At first their abode was at 
Kochaba, a village in the district of Carnaim, Arnem, 
and Astaroth, in the reign of Basanitis, according to 
the information which we have received. But I am 
now told from other sources also, of his connection 
with the locality of Kochaba and Arabia far and 
wide”). Also Epiph., de mens. et pond. 15: jvica 
yap guedNev 9 oA adtoxeOa vro Tov “Pwualwy Kat 
épnmova Bat ™ poexpyuatia Oncay UTO ayyéevou TavTes of wabyrat 
PeTATTHVAL amo THs ToOAEwS jLeAOUVTNS apony a7roAdva Bat, 
olrwes meTavacTat ryevomevol woxnoav ev Llé\An TH ™ poyeypau- 
mevy roel Té pay TOU Topdavou ° 7 Oe oA ex AexatroXews 
Aéyerae eivae (For when the city was about to be 
captured and sacked by the Romans, all the disciples 
were warned beforehand by an angel to remove from 
the city, doomed as it was to utter destruction. On 
migrating from it they settled at Pella, the town 
already indicated, across the Jordan. It is said to be- 
long to Decapolis”). Cp. lastly Epiph., Z@7.,xxx. 18: 
[The Ebionites] “spring for the most part from 
Batanea [so apparently we must read, and not 
Naaréas| and Paneas, as well as from Moabitis and 
Kochaba in Basanitis on the other side of Adraa 
(ras piGas éxouvow aro te tas Batavéas cat LIlaveados ro 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 258 


treatov, MwaBiriwos Te Kat KwyaBov ths ev tH Bacavitid: 
yn eTreKewa ’Adpaay), 

These passages and their sources (or source) afford 
a wide field for discussion and a still wider for con- 
jecture,’ particularly if we add that Julius Africanus 
also mentions Kochaba along with Nazareth’ as the 
domicile of the relatives of Jesus. But their import- 
ance for our present purpose lies in the fact that 
they attest the scattering of most of the Jewish 
Christians resident in Palestine, west of the Jordan 
as well as at Jerusalem, in connection with and in 
consequence of the great war, and also their establish- 
ment, especially at Pella in Perea (or Decapolis), at 
Kochaba in Basanitis,’ and in Beroea and its surround- 


| For examples of these, see Zahn’s Forschungen, vi. p. 270. 

2 But not Emmaus as well, for in my Chronologie, i. p. 220, I 
misunderstood the passage in Cod. Baroce. 142 (Teate u. Unters., 
iv. 2, p. 169).—As there is a Kékab el Hawa south-east of Tabor, 
and therefore not too far from Nazareth (Baedeker’s Palast. u. 
Syrien, fifth ed., p. 252), it is natural to suppose that this is the 
village meant by Africanus. But as the Kochaba of Epiphanius 
certainly lies east of the Jordan, and as it would be extremely 
precarious to imagine that Africanus meant a different village from 
that of Epiphanius, Kékab el Hawé must be set aside. The 
epithet of “Jewish village,” added by Africanus to both places, 
does not preclude us from looking for his Kochaba east of the 
Jordan, since even Nazareth, as situated in Galilee, is a Jewish 
village only in the broader sense of the term.—One notes, as a 
curious detail, that Conon, whose martyrdom is put by the legends 
under Decius, and who lived and died as a gardener at Magydus in 
Pamphilia, declares at his trial that he came from Nazareth and was 
a relative of Jesus (ep. von Gebhardt’s Acta Mart, Selecta, p. 130). 

§ Kochaba is not the Kékab situated about twenty kilometres [124 
miles] S.W. of Damascus (cp. Baedeker, pp. 295, 348, and the map), 
where Paul’s conversion was located during the Middle Ages, for 
this spot disagrees with the detailed statements of Epiphanius, and, 
besides, Eusebius writes as follows in his Onomasticon: Xwfa, 7 


254 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


ings (Coele-Syria)."_ Epiphanius, it is true, adds 
Batanea, Paneas, and Moabitis, but it cannot be 
affirmed that the dispersed Jewish Christians reached 
these districts at the same early period.” Flying from 
hatred and persecution at the hands of the Palestinian 
Jews, they rightly supposed that they would fare 
better in the Greek towns of the East and in the 
country. This proceeding, which had been carried 


éorw ev dpiotepa Aapackod. éote d€ kai Xwfa Kou ev Tots avrols 
pepecw ev 7 cioly “EBpato. of eis Xprotov mictetoavtes “EBiwvaior 
kadovpevot (“ Khoba, which is on the left of Damascus. There is 
also a village of Khoba in the same district where Hebrews are to 
be found, who believe in Christ; their name is Ebionites.” So 
Jerome.) With this all the statements of Epiphanius agree (see 
further, Her., xl. L: ev 77 “ApaBia év Koya Bn, &vOa ai tov “EBwwvalwv 
te kat NaLwpatwv pila evypéavto=In Arabia at Kochaba, where the 
origins of the Ebionites and Nazarenes lay). The locality, how- 
ever, has not been re-discovered. Its site awaits future research, 
very possibly westward of Adraa (Der’at ; ep. Baedeker, p. 186) and 
in the vicinity of Tell-el-Asch’ari, which lies not far from Der’at to 
the N.W., and may be identified with Karnaim-Ashtaroth (Baedeker, 
p- 183). Basanitis, or Batanzea, belonged to Arabia in the days 
of Epiphanius. Zahn (Forsch., i. pp. 330 f.) is inclined to look 
for Kochaba much further south; but in order to make such a site 
probable, he has to cast doubts upon the precise language of 
Epiphanius. For this there is no obvious reason, especially as 
Epiphanius (Har., xxx. 2) observes that elsewhere he has given an 
explicit topographical account of Kochaba. 

1 It is doubtful if this migration took place at so early a period. 
It may have occurred later. Jerome found Jewish Christians in 
Bercea (de vir. all. 3). 

2 Moabitis owes its mention perhaps to the impression produced 
by the fact that the Elkesaites (Sampszans) were mainly to be 
found there; ep. Her., liii. 1: Sapwatod twes €v 7H Ilepaia ... . 
mépav THS “AXuKys nro. Nexpds Kadovpevys Oaraoons, ev TH Mwafsirede 
xopa, mepl Tov yeysdppovv “Apvav Kal eréxewa ev TH Irovpaia Kat 
NaBaririds: (“ Certain Sampseeans in Peraea beyond the Dead Sea in 
Moabitis, in the vicinity of the Arnon torrent and across the borders 
in Iturea and Nabatitis”’). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D.- 255 


out at an earlier period in the dispersion of the 
Jerusalem-church after the outburst against Stephen, 
was repeated once more in a later age, when a 
number of Christian heretics during the fourth and 
fifth centuries fled from the State church into the 
‘eastern districts across the Jordan. All these 
movements of flight presuppose a group of people 
comparatively small in numbers, with little to lose 
in the shape of property. Hence we learn from 
them to form a moderate estimate of the numbers 
of these “ Ebionites.”' The latter, broken up more 
than once and subsequently liable in part to foreign 
influences, survived in these districts along the Jordan 
and the Dead Sea as late as the fourth century, and 
even later. Persecuted by the Jews, treated by the 
Gentile Christians as semi-Jews (and Jews indeed 
they were, by nationality and language [Aramaic]), 
they probably dragged out a wretched existence. 
The Gentile Christian bishops (even those of 
Palestine) and teachers rarely noticed them. It is 
remarkable how little Eusebius, for example, knows 
about them, while even Justin and Jerome after him 
evince but a moderate acquaintance with their ways 
of life. Origen and Epiphanius knew most about 
them. ‘The former gives an account of their numbers, 
which is more important than the statement of Justin 
in his Apology (1. liti.: wActovas robs é& eOvev Tav aro 
"Tovdatwy Kat Zapapéwy Xpisriavovs, see above, p. 151). 
- He remarks (Jom. I. 1 in Joh., ed. Brooke, i. pp. 
2 f.), in connection with the 144,000 sealed saints of 
the Apocalypse, that this could not mean Jews by 


1 I may pass by here the vexed question as to the relationship 
between Nazarenes and Ebionites. 


256 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


birth or Jewish Christians, since one might quite well 
hazard the conjecture that there was not that number 
of Jewish Christians in existence. Now this remark 
furnishes us with a rough idea of the number of 
Jewish Christians during the first half of the third 
century. Origen knew the districts where Jewish 
Christians chiefly resided, as is proved by his travels 
from Czsarea to Bostra. He also knew the extent 
of the Jewish Christian synagogues in Alexandria and 
Lower Egypt, and these were their headquarters. 
Besides, we can appeal to yet another estimate of 
their numbers in this connection. Justin, himself a 
Samaritan by birth, observes in his Apology (I. xxvi.) 
that “almost all the Samaritans, with only a few 
foreigners, hail Simon Magus as their chief god.” A 
hundred years later, Origen writes thus (c. Cels., I. 
lvii.): “ At present the number of Simon’s disciples 
all over the world does not amount, in my opinion, 
to thirty. Perhaps that is even putting it too high. 
There are extremely few in Palestine, and in the 
other parts of the world, where he would fain have 
exalted his name, they are totally unknown.” 


Now let us come back to Aelia-Jerusalem and the 
Gentile Christian communities of Palestine which 
replaced the Jewish Christians. Marcus (135/136 
A.D.) was the first Gentile Christian president in 
Aelia.! Like the town, the church of Aelia never 

1 The episcopal list (ep. my Chronologie, i. pp. 220 f.) up to 250 
a.p. shows nothing but Greco-Roman names: Cassianus, Publius, 
Maximus, Julianus, Gaius, Symmachus, Gaius, Julianus, Capito, 
Maximus, Antoninus, Valens, Dolichianus, Narcissus, Dius, Ger- 


manion, Gordius, Alexander. Then come four names—Mazabanes, 
Hymenezus, Zabdas, and Hermon—two of which, of course, are Syrian, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO $25 A.D. 257 


attained any importance, as is abundantly plain from 
the negative evidence of Kusebius’s Church-History, 
even when we take into account the fact that 
Eusebius was bishop of Cesarea, the natural rival of 
Aelia. The latter was called “Aelia” even in 
ecclesiastical terminology (cp., e.g., Eus., H.E., ii. 12. 
3; Dionys. Alex., abid., vii. 5; Mart. Pal. xi., though 
* Jerusalem ” also occurs); which shows that even the 
church at first held that the old tradition had been 
broken.! Nevertheless, as is well known, the sacred 
Christian sites* were sought out during the second 
and third centuries ; some of them were actually found 
and visited. A certain amount of theological activity 
is attested by the existence of a library established 
in Aelia by bishop Alexander at the opening of the 
third century (Kus., H.E., vi. 20). 

Once the metropolitan episcopate came to be 
organized, the bishop of Czsarea was metropolitan 
of Syria-Palestina; but it is quite clear, from the 
history of Eusebius, that the bishop of Aelia not 


”? 


1 By 300 a.v. the name “Jerusalem” had become wholly un- 
familiar in wide circles. A good example of this is afforded by 
Mart. Pal., xi. 10, which tells how a confessor described himself to 
the Roman governor as a citizen of Jerusalem (meaning the 
heavenly Jerusalem). “The magistrate, however, thought it was 
an earthly city, and sought carefully to discover what city it could 
be, and wherever it could be situated.” Even were the anecdote 
proved to be fictitious, it is still highly convincing. 

2 Eusebius (H.E., vi. 2, @ propos of Alexander) gives an early 
instance of this, in the year 212/213. In consequence of all this, 
the repute of the Jerusalem church must have gradually revived or 
arisen during the course of the third century. The first serious 
evidence of it occurs in the case of Firmilian (Cyprian’s ep. Ixxv. 6), 
who upbraids the Roman church with failing to observe the exact 
methods followed by the church of Jerusalem. 

voL, It. BZ 


258 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


merely was second to him, but shared with him the 
management of the synod. And as time went on, 
he gradually eclipsed his rival." But under Origen 
Cesarea became a second Alexandria, in point of 
theological learning and activity. Pamphilus, who 
founded the great library there, has the credit of 
having adhered firmly to the traditions of Origen 
and of having made the work of Eusebius possible. 
We know nothing about the size of the Jerusalem- 
church or the percentage of Christians in the city. 
But until the intervention of Constantine they were 
unable to secure possession of the holy sepulchre (or 
what they both took to be its site; ep. Eus., Vt. Const., 


1 The metropolitan nexus cannot be shown to have existed 
earlier than c. 190 a.p, (the Paschal controversy). Eusebius (v. 23) 
tells how Theophilus of Caesarea and Narcissus of Jerusalem were 
then at the head of the Palestinian churches and synod. In 
noticing the synodal communication (v. 23), he puts Narcissus first, 
distinguishing also the bishops of Tyre and Ptolemais, who attended 
the synod, from the Palestinian bishops. The communication is 
interesting, as it incidentally mentions a constant official intercourse 
between the provincial churches of Palestine and the church of 
Alexandria. We have also to assume a Palestinian synod in the 
year 231/232, which determined not to recognize the condemnation 
of Origen by Demetrius (cp. Jerome’s epp., xxxiii. 4). In his 
epistle to Stephanus (Eus., H.E., vii. 51), Dionysius of Alexandria 
puts Theoktistus, bishop of Czsarea, before Mazabanes, bishop of 
Aelia. But in the synodal document of the great Eastern synod of 
Antioch in 268 (Eus., vii. 30. 2), the bishop of Jerusalem precedes 
the bishop of Caesarea, while at the synod of Nicaea Macarius of 
Jerusalem voted before Eusebius of Caesarea. Eusebius only gives 
the episcopal list of Caesarea as far back as 190 a.p,, and that of 
Jerusalem as far back as James. But did Eusebius know of bishops 
at Ceesarea before 190? I pass over, as untrustworthy, the statement 
of Eutychius (ep. my Chronol., i. p. 222) that Demetrius of Alexandria 
addressed a circular letter to Victor of Rome, Maxim(in)us of Antioch, 
and “ Gabius’’ (Gaius ?) of Jerusalem. 


CHRISTLANITY DOWN *TO7%S25 ALD, 259 


iii. 26); which shows their lack of power within the 
city. 

In Acts we hear of Christians, outside Jerusalem, 
at Samaria (and in Samaritan villages; cp. viii. 25), 
Lydda (Diospolis), Saron,* Joppa, and Cesarea. 
The presence of Christians (relatives of Jesus) at 
Nazareth is asserted by Africanus, while codex D of 
the New Testament locates Mnason, the old disciple, 
at an unnamed village between Czsarea and 
Jerusalem.? 

At Nicea there were present the bishops of 
Jerusalem, Neapolis (Sichem), Sebaste (Samaria),’ 
Czsarea, Gadara, Ascalon, Nicopolis, Jamnia, Eleu- 
theropolis (in the district of Beth-Gubrin ; see Violet 
in Texte wu. Unters., xiv. 4, p. 73), Maximianopolis, 
Jericho, Sebulon, Lydda, Azotus, Scythopolis, Gaza, 
Aila, and Capitolias.’ Elsewhere we have direct or 
inferential evidence® for the presence of Christians 
(though in very small numbers at particular spots) at 
Emmaus (Nicopolis) Sichar (Asker), Bethlehem, Anea 

1 The Christian community in Caesarea seems to have been more 
powerful. According to Socrates (iii. 23), who depends upon 
Eusebius, the later Neoplatonist Porphyry was beaten by Christians 
in Cesarea. ; 

2 Acts ix. 33 seems to take Saron as a group of places. 

’ Whether the Perate, a gnostic sect, belonged to Perza, may 
be questioned ; see Hort and Mayor in their edition of Clement's 
Strom. vii. (1902) p. 354. 

4 The signatures to the Nicene council (Gelzer, Hilgenfeld, and 
Cunitz, 1898, p. Ix.) give a double entry: Mapivos ZeBaornvds and 
Taiavos YeBacrjs, of whose meaning and origin alike we are entirely 
ignorant. 

> The presence of bishops or Christians in several of these towns 
is attested also by Alexander of Alexandria (in Athanas., de synod. 
17, and Epiph., Her., lxix. 4), and Eusebius (Mart. Pal.). 

6 I leave out the pseudo-Clementines, 


260 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


by Eleutheropolis, Batanea by Czsarea (Aulana), 
Anim, Jattir, Bethabara, and Pheno. Eusebius 
(H.F., vi. 11. 3) mentions bishops of churches which 
were situated round (7éo.¢) Jerusalem, even in the 
year 212/213; but we do not know who are meant. 
Similarly in Mart. Pal., i. 8, he mentions apxovtes tev 
ETLX Ww ploy exkAyoiwy, “rulers of the country churches ” 
(2.e. of churches in the neighbourhood of Czsarea), 
who were martyred at Czsarea under Diocletian. 
But unfortunately he does not specify the localities. 
Nor do we know anything about the church of 
Asclepius, the Marcionite bishop who was martyred 
in the persecution of Daza (EKus., Mart. Pal., x. 1), 
or about the place to which the bishop mentioned by 
Kpiphanius in Her., |xiii. 2 (€v roAe pexpa rie adaorivys 
=in a small town of Palestine) belonged. The latter 
outlived the era of the great persecution,’ as he is 
expressly termed a confessor. 

The large majority of the localities in Palestine 
where bishops or Christians can be traced, are Greek 
cities which lay scattered in large numbers up and 
down a land where Syriac was spoken, and where 
there was a large non-Hellenic population. It is 
among the Greeks of these cities that Christianity 
is first and foremost to be sought. If we further 
assume that in general, until Constantine mastered 
Palestine, there were no Christians” at all in Tiberias— 

1 This can hardly mean the persecution under Julian, as the 
bishop in question was dead by 370 a.v., after a long tenure of the 
episcopate. 

2 This does not follow from Epiph., Hwr., xxx. 4, for the per- 
mission granted by Constantine to Joseph to build churches there, 


might per contra suggest the presence of local Christians, But in 
xxx, I] we read that Joseph merely secured one favour, viz., 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO,825 A.D. 261 


the headquarters of rabbinic learning—, in Diocesarea 
(Sepphoris), in Nazareth, and in Capernaum (for the 
local Christians in primitive times had been driven 
out by the fanatical Jews); assuming also that they 
were extremely scanty in the territory stretching away 
to the south of Jerusalem,’ then it is impossible to 
speak of Palestine being Christianized before the 
time of Constantine. Save for a few exceptions, 
the lowlands were Jewish, and in Jewish towns and 
localities Christians were only tolerated against the 
will of the inhabitants. In Dhoceesarea, e.g., even 
under Constantine, the Jews were still so numerous 
that they essayed a rising (Socrat., H.E., ii. 83); and 
Theodoret (H.H., iv. 19) narrates that in the reign 
of Valens the town was inhabited by Jews who 
murdered Christians. In the Hellenistic towns 
Christians were to be met with, but even there— 
with the exception of Caesarea, of course—they were 


permission to build churches in those Jewish towns and villages 
throughout Palestine “where no one had ever been able to erect 
churches, ewing to the absence of Greeks, Samaritans, or Christians. 
Especially was this the case with Tiberias, Diocesarea, Sepphoris, 
Nazareth, and Capernaum, where members of all other nations were 
carefully excluded” (6a tis ovd€rore inxucev oikodopjoa éxkAynoias, 
dia TO pyte “EAXnva, pate Sapapeirynv, pyre Xpiotiavoy pécov avtrav 
evar’ TovTo de padtora ev Tiepiads kai év Avokaapeia, TH Kal Ser- 
doupiv, Kal ev Kadepvaoty pvddcoetat map aitois Tod pi) elvar Tia 
a\Xov €Gvovs). This is not contradicted by the statement of Epi- 
phanius himself (xxx. 4) regarding a “ bishop whose district adjoined 
that of Tiberias” (érioKoros tAnoiwxwpos THs TiBepiwy dv), in the 
pre-Constantine period; for this bishop was not exactly bishop of 
Tiberias.—There must have been numerous purely Jewish localities 
in Palestine; thus Origen (in Matt., xvi. 17. 1) describes Bethphage 
as a village of Jewish priests. 

1 On some exceptions to this (Anim and Jattir) see below.—For 
idolatry in Mamre, see Vit. Const., iii. 51-53. 


262 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


not very numerous, while several important pagan 
towns with ancient shrines offered them a sharp 
resistance, and refused to harbour them at. all. 
Thus in Gaza itself no Christian bishop was in 
residence, as may be certainly inferred from Eus., 
H.E., viii. 13, where Silvanus is described as bishop 
of “the churches round Gaza” (cp. Mart. Pal., xiii. 
As ek Tis DaCatoy €TLOKOTOS OP[L@LEVOS DAB., “ Silvanus, 
a bishop from Gaza”) at the time of the great 
persecution. Not until after 3825 a.p. was the 
church organized strongly by Constantine amid the 
tough paganism of these towns (cp. Vit. Const., iv. 
38); thus even Asclepas, who was present at the 
council of Nicea (cp. Epiph., Har., xix. 4), was no 
more than the bishop of the churches round Gaza,’ 
although a rather small (and secret ?) Christian con- 
venticle is to be assumed as having existed in Gaza 
itself as early as the age of the persecution (see 
Eus., Mart. Pal., viii. 4, ii. 1).2 Palestinian Greek 
Christianity and its bishops gravitated southwards 
to Alexandria more readily than to Antioch and 
the north® (see above, on Eus., H.H., v. 25); even 


1 The seaport of Gaza, Majuma, undoubtedly belonged to this 
group of churches. 

2 A Christian woman “from the country of Gaza” (ris Taaiwv 
xwpas) is mentioned in Eus., Mart. Pal., viii. 8. 

3 Eus., Mart. Pal., iii. 3, supports the view that in the seacoast 
towns of Palestine Christianity was to be found among the floating 
population rather than among the old indigenous inhabitants. Six 
Christians voluntarily reported themselves to the governor for the 
fight with wild beasts. “One of them, born in Pontus, was called 
Timolaos ; Dionysius, another, came from Tripolis in Phoenicia; the 
third was a subdeacon of the church in Diospolis, called Romulus : 
besides these there were two Egyptians, Paésis and Alexander, and 
another Alexander from Gaza.” Hardly any of the martyrs at 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 263 


in spiritual things it depended upon Alexandria 
throughout our period. One natural outcome of 
this relationship was the purely Greek, or almost 
purely Greek, character of Christianity in Palestine, 
which is brcught out very forcibly by the names of 
the martyrs recounted by Eusebius (in his Mart. 
Pal.). In that catalogue Jewish or Syrian names 
are quite infrequent (yet cp. Zebinas of Eleutheropolis 
and Ennathas, a woman from Scythopolis, Mart. Pal., 
ix. 5-6)." 

Unfortunately the treatise of Eusebius to which 
reference has just been made furnishes far less 
instructive or statistical material for the church of 
Palestine than one would expect. We can only 
make out, from its contents, that it corroborates our 
conclusion that even in the Hellenistic towns of 
Palestine—which Eusebius has alone in view—during 
the great persecution there cannot have been very 
many Christians, Caesarea being the town where they 
most abounded. This conclusion is ratified by all we 
can gather regarding the history of Christianity in 
Palestine during the fourth century, especially re- 
garding the history of Christianity along the Philistine 


Cesarea were citizens of the town.—The relations between Palestine 
(Czsarea) and Alexandria were drawn still closer by Origen and his 
learning. We also know that Africanus went from Emmaus to 
Alexandria in order to hear Heraclas, and so forth. 

1 Old Testament names—after the end of the third century, at 
- least—do not prove the Jewish origin of their bearers; ep. Mart. 
Pal., xi. 7 f.: “The governor got by way of answer the name of a 
prophet instead of the man’s proper name. For instead of the 
names derived from idolatry, which had been given them by their 
parents, they had assumed names such as Elijah, or Jeremiah, or 
Isaiah, or Samuel, or Daniel.” 


264 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


seaboard.' The attempt made by Constantine and 
his successors to definitely acclimatize Christianity in 
Palestine did not succeed. Numberless churches, no 
doubt, were built on the holy sites of antiquity as 
well as at spots which were alleged to mark past 
deeds and events. Hordes of monks settled down 
there. Pilgrims came in their thousands. But there 
was no real Christianizing of the country as an out- 
come of all this, least of all in the haughty cities on 
the south-west coast. As late as 400 a.p. Gaza 
remained essentially a pagan city. Look at Sozom., 
vii. 15, and the Vita Porphyria of Marcus (ed. 
Teubner, 1895). Here we are told that but a very 
few Christians—127 in all ?—were to be found in Gaza, 
before Porphyry entered on his duties (394 a.p.), 
while the very villages near the city were still entirely 
pagan.® For our purpose that number 127 is highly 
valuable. It teaches us the necessity of confining 
within a very small compass any estimate we may 
choose to make of the Christianity which prevailed on 


1 See some data upon this in V. Schultze’s Gesch. des Untergangs 
des griechisch-romischen Heidentums (1892), ii. pp. 240 f., and 
especially the “ Peregrinatio Silviae” (ed. Gamurini, 1887). 

* Vita Porphyr., p. 12. 1: ot tore ovres Xprorvavol, dALyou Kat evapib- 
pytoe Tvyxavovtes (cp. p. 74. 15), “The Christians of that day were 
few and easily counted.” It is also noted (p. 20. 2) that Porphyry 
added 105 Christians in one year to the original nucleus of 127 
Compare the following numbers: on p. 29. 10 there are sixty 
named, on p. 52. 1 thirty-nine, then on p. 61. 16 we have one year 
with three hundred converts, kat é€ éxeivov ka?’ exacrov eros av&yow 
erédexero Ta Xpirtiavov (“And thenceforward every year saw an 
increase to the strength of local Christianity ”’). 

3 Vit. Porphyr., p. 16. 7: wAnoiov Tagys koma tvyxavover rapa THY 
6dov altives trdpxovew Tis cidwAopavias (“ Near Gaza there are way- 
side villages which are given over to idolatry’’). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 265 


the Philistine seaboard during the previous century. 
There is also significance in the fact that the name of 
“the old church” (p. 18. 6) was given to the church 
which Asclepas, who was bishop of Gaza during the 
great persecution and under Constantine, had erected 
subsequent to 325. This means that previous to 825 
there were no Christian edifices in the place. Ascalon, 
too, had a strongly pagan population as late as the 
fourth century, just as Diocesarea (see above) was 
inhabited by a preponderating number of Jews. The 
seaport of Anthedon remained entirely pagan as late 
as Julian’s reign. 

I now proceed to give a list of towns and localities 
in which Christians can be traced prior’ to 325, 
adding very brief annotations.’ 

Jerusalem, represented at Nica; ‘churches 
round Jerusalem” in the year 212-213 are noted in 
Hus. -7.E.; vi. 11. 3. 

Czesarea on the coast (Acts x.). Bishops are to be 
traced from 190 a.p., viz., Theophilus (ci7ca 190, Eus., 
H.E., v. 22. 25); Theoktistus (at the crisis over 
Origen in Alexandria, also at the time of the Antioch- 


1 During the second century in particular, these churches were 
certainly to some extent infinitesimal. The following decision of 
the so-called Egyptian Church-Constitution is scarcely to be referred 
to Egypt. It rather applies to Palestine or Syria. “Eav édryavdpia 
brapxy Kal pyrov wAnGos Tvyxdvyn Tov Svvapévo’ Yypicacat cept 
emurkdrrov évTos UB’ avdpav, eis Tas wAnoiov exxAnoias, Orov Tvyxdvet 
mernyvia, ypapetrwoay, x.7.r. (“Should there be a dearth of men, and 
should it be impossible to secure the requisite number of twelve 
capable of taking part in the election of a bishop, let a message be 
sent to churches in the neighbourhood’). 

* On the organization, size, and history of the Greek cities named 
in this list, see the careful collection of data in the third edition of 
Schiirer’s History. 


266 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


ene synod regarding Novatian and bishop Stephanus 
of Rome, Eus., H.E., vi. 19. 17; vi. 46. 8 [where he 
is called “bishop in Palestine,” as a metropolitan]; 
we do not know if he was the immediate successor 
of Theophilus) ; Domnus (who only ruled for a short 
period, according to Eus., H.H., vi. 14; he succeeded 
Theoktistus in the reign of Gallienus) ; Theoteknus 
(who succeeded Domnus in the same reign, and took 
part in the synods against Paul of Antioch, Eus., vii. 
14, 28, 80; vii. 82. 21, 24), and Agapius (Eus., vii. 
82. 24). Counc. Nic. According to the legends the 
taxgatherer Zaccheus was the first bishop of Caesarea. 
For “ churches at Cesarea,” see Mart. Pal., 1. 3. 

Samaria-Sebaste (Acts vill, Counc. Nic.; here 
John the Baptist was buried, acc. to Theod., H.E., 
il. 3). 

Lydda Diospolis (Acts ix.; Theod., i. 4; Coune. 
Nic.). 

Joppa (Acts ix.). 

Saron (Acts 1x.). 

Emmaus - Nicopolis (Julius Africanus; Counce. 
Nic.). 

Sichem-Neapolis (Counce. Nic.). 

Scythopolis’ (Mart. Pal., ix. 6; p. 4. 7. 110, of 
longer form of Mart. Pal., ed. Violet in Tewte wu. 
Unters., xiv. 4; Alex. of Alex: in Athanas., de synod. 
17; cp. Epiph., Wer. xxx. 5; Counc. Nics); 

Eleutheropolis (Mart. Pal., ix. 5; Epiph., Her., 
lxvin. 3, xvi. 1; Counc. Nic.). 

Maximianopolis (Counc. Nic.). 

Jericho [also a Greek city] (Coune. Nic. ; cp. also 
EKuseb., vi. 16). 


1 The biblical Beth-san (Baischan, Bésin in Manasseh), 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 267 


Sabulon (Counce. Nic.). 

Jamma (Mart. Pal., xi. 5; Alex. of Alex. in 
Kpiph., Her., Ixix. 4; Coune. Nic.). 

Azotus (Counce. Nic.). 

mesealon-(iMarzt: Pol., x: 1; Alex. of. Alex. in 
Kpiph., Her. lxix. 4; Counc. Nic.). 

Gaza (for a small local conventicle and_ the 
“churches round Gaza,” see above; Epiph., Her., 
Ixvii. 3; Counc. Nic. Not merely at Gaza but also 
at the coast-town of Raphia, close to the border of 
Egypt, the pagans attempted to ward off Christianity 
by force as late as c. 400 a.p.; ep. Sozom., vu. 15).* 

Aila (a seaport on the north-east corner of the 
Red Sea, included in Palestine at that period; 
Counce. Nic.). 

Gadara (Counc. Nic.). 

Capitolias (Counce. Nic.). 

Bethlehem (the existence of a local Christianity 
follows from Orig.: c. Cels., I. li.). 

Anea, a village in the territory of Eleutheropolis 
(trav dpwv ’EXcobeporo\ews, Mart. Pal., x. 2. Petrus 
Balsamus, the martyr, came from the district of 
Kleutheropolis ; see Ruinart, p. 525). 

Anim and Jattir, two villages south of Hebron 
(on Jattir, see Baedeker, p. 209; Anim = Ghuwin 
= Ruwen; cp. Buhl’s Geogr. Pal., p. 164), which 
Eusebius, in his Onomasticon, declares to have been 
exclusively inhabited by Christians. This is a strik- 
ing statement, as we are not prepared for Christians 
in these of all districts. We must not, however, 
measure the density of the Christian population on 


1 St Hilarion was born (about 250 a.p.) in Tabatha, “a village 
lying about 5000 paces from Gaza,’ but his parents were pagan. 


268 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the soil of Palestine by this standard. These two 
villages must have formed an exception to the general 
rule,’ although it remains a notable fact that there 
were villages already which were completely: 
Christian. 

Bethabara (Eusebius in his Onomasticon describes 
it as a favourite spot for baptism, so that there must 
have been local Christians). 

Sichar--Asker (as Eusebius observes in his Ono- 
masticon that a church was already built there, it 
follows that there must have been some local Christians 
at an earlier date). 

Bataneea, a village beside Caesarea (Mart. Pal., x1. 
29; where we are not to read Manganea, Baganza, 
Balanea, or Banea; see Mercati’s “I Martiri di 
Palestina nel Codice Sinaitico,” Estr. dai Rendiconti 
del R. Instit. Lombard. di. se. e lett., Serie II., vol. 
30, 1897. To the best of my knowledge, however, 
the place has not been identified). 

Pheno (according to Mart. Pal., vii. 2, and Epiph., 
Heerr., \xviii. 8, Christians laboured in the mines at 
Pheno in S. Palestine [cp. Mart. Pal., viii. 1, and 
the Onomasticon]; according to Mart., xii. 1, they 
reconstructed houses into churches, and were con- 
sequently dispersed by force into settlements through- 
out the various districts of Palestine. The Apology 
of Pamphilus for Origen is directed “ 'To the confessors 

1 Eusebius (vii. 12) tells of three Palestinian martyrs (Priscus, 
Malchus, and Alexander) in the reign of Valerian, stating explicitly 
that they lived on the land, and that they were reproached for 
thus enjoying an unmolested life whilst their brethren in the city 
were exposed to suffering. Hence they voluntarily betook them- 


selves also to Cesarea, ete. Unfortunately Eusebius has not 
specified their original home. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 269 


sentenced to the mines of Palestine ” [ “ad confessores 
ad metalla Palestiniae damnatos”]; cp. Routh’s Relig. 
Sacrae, 1V. p. 341). 

To sum up, we may say that, judged from a purely 
statistical standpoint, the policy of Maximinus Daza, 
which aimed at the utter eradication of Christianity, 
was by no means so insensate a venture in the case 
of Palestine as it was in that of Syria. Christi- 
anity won but a slender footing amid the Jewish 
population of the Holy Land; such Jewish Christians 
as there were, had for the most part withdrawn 
across the Jordan. Amid the Greek population, 
again, Christianity had not as yet any numerical 
preponderance ;* evidently it drew its adherents 


1 In one town, Aulona, Petrus Balsamus is said to have been 
martyred. He came from the district of Eleutheropolis (according 
to the larger Syriac recension of the Mart. Pal., he was born “in 
the district of Beth Gubrin’’). The name of the place is variously 
written, and is to be identified with Anea (see above). Nor was 
he martyred there. It was, on the contrary, the place of his birth. 
No chor-episcopi from Palestine took part in the council of Nicza. 
Was it because there were none at all? If so, it is a fresh 
corroboration of the fact that Christianity had penetrated but 
slightly into the (Jewish) population of the country. One can 
hardly appeal against this view, to the bishop “‘of the churches 
round Gaza’’ (see above), for in Gaza itself there could not be 
any bishop. 

2 One must not indeed under-estimate their numbers, for Eusebius 
would never have been able to say that “Christians are nowadays, 
of all nations, the richest in numbers” (H.E., i. 4. 2), unless this 
element had been both noticeable and superior to the several 
religious associations of the country. The historian could not have 
passed such a verdict, if Christianity had been an insignificant 
factor in his own surroundings at Cesarea. From Eus., H.E., ix. 
18 (péyas re kal povos aAnOijs 6 XprrtiavGv Oeds, “The Christian’s God 
is great, and the only true God’’) it follows also that public feeling, 
in Cesarea at any rate, was not absolutely unfavourable to Christians ; 


270 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


from the fluctuating, poorer classes, rather than 
from the ranks of stable and propertied people. It 
is perfectly obvious, to judge from the treatise on the 
Palestinian martyrs (see above), that the latter section 
was hardly represented at all in local Christianity, 
and that so far as it did exist, it understood how to 
evade persecution. ‘Thus it formed an _ unreliable 
asset for the church. 

Christians in Palestine used Greek as the language 
of their worship; but, as we might a priori con- 
jecture, several churches were bilingual (Greek and 
Aramaic). Direct proof of this is forthcoming in the 
case of Jerusalem and Scythopolis (Mart. Pal., longer 
edition, pp. 4, 7, 110, ed. Violet in Tevte und Unters., 
xiv. 4). Procopius, we are told, himself a native of 
Aelia, did the church of Scythopolis the service of 
translating from Greek into Aramaic (Syriac), a state- 
ment which also proves that the service-books were 
still (c. 8300 a.p.) untranslated into the vernacular. 
Translated they were, but orally.’ 

The notice further shows that the need of translation 
was not yet pressing. ‘Translations of the scriptures 


see also ix. 1. 11 (ds Kal tods mpdtepov Kal’ jpadv povavtas, TO Oaipa 
Tapa macav opavres éArida, ovyxaipew Tois yeyevnuéevors: “So that 
even those who formerly had raged against us, on seeing the utterly 
unexpected come to pass, congratulated us on what had occurred”’), 
and especially ix. 8. 14 (Oedv re trav Xpiotiavov dokalew, eioeBeis re 
Kai povous Deoaef3ets TovTovs aAnOGs Tpds aitadv éheyxevtas Tov Tpay- 
pdtwv dpodroyeiv: “Glorify the Christian’s God, and acknowledge, 
under the demonstration of the facts themselves, that Christians 
were truly pious and the only reverent folk”’). 

1 Cp. here Silviae Peregrinatio, xlvii.: Et quoniam in ea provincia 
[Palestina] pars populi et graece et siriste novit, pars etiam alia 
per se graece, aliqua etiam pars tantum siriste, itaque, quoniam 
episcopus, licet siriste noverit, tamen semper graece loquitur et 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 271 


into the Palestinian Aramaic dialect (I pass by what 
is recorded in Epiph., Her., xxx. 8. 12) were not 
made, so far as we have yet ascertained, until a later 
age. Fresh fragments of these versions have been 
recently made accessible, and we may expect still 
more of them. But it is unlikely that their originals 
will be pushed back into the third century. 


§ 2. PHanicta.* 


As we learn from Acts, Christianity reached the 
cities of Phoenicia at a very early period. When 
Paul was converted, there were already Christians 


numquam siriste, itaqgue ergo stat semper presbyter, qui, episcopo 
graece dicente, siriste interpretatur, et omnes audiant quae expon- 
antur. lectiones etiam, quaecumque in ecclesia leguntur, quia necesse 
est graece legi, semper stat, qui siriste interpretatur propter 
populum, ut semper discant. sane quicumque hic [sc. in Jerusalem] 
latini sunt, z.e. qui nec siriste nec graece noverunt, ne contristentur, 
et ipsis exponit episcopus, quia sunt alii fratres et sorores graeci- 
latini, qui latine exponunt eis (“ And as in the province of Palestine 
one section of the population knows both Greek and Syriac, whilst 
another is purely Greek, and a third knows only Syriac, therefore, 
since the bishop, though he knows Syriac, always speaks in Greek 
and never in Syriac, a presbyter always stands beside him to interpret 
his Greek into Syriac, so that all the congregation may know what 
is being said. Also, as the readings from scripture in the church 
have to be in Greek, a Syriac interpreter is always present for the 
benefit of the people, that they may miss nothing of the lessons. 
Indeed, in case Latins here [in Jerusalem], 7.e. people who know 
neither Greek nor Syriac, should be put out, the bishop expounds to 
them by themselves, since there are other brethren and sisters, 
Greco-latins, who expound to them in Latin’”’). 

1 Pheenicia in the wider sense of the term (ep. subscript. 
Nicza), but as distinguished from Syria. That an ecclesiastical 
province of this name existed in 231-232 a.p. is proved by Jerome, 
ep. xxx. 4: “Damnatur Origenes a Demetrio episcopo exceptis 
Palaestinae et Arabiae et Phoenicis atque Achaiae sacerdotibus.” 


272 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


at Damascus (Acts x. 2, 12 f., 19); for Christians in 
Tyre see xxl. 4, for Ptolemais see xxi. 7, for Sidon’ 
Xxvil. 2, and in general xi. 19. 

The metropolitan position of Tyre, which was the 
leading city in the East for manufactures and trade, 
made it the ecclesiastical head of the province; but 
it is questionable if this pre-eminence obtained as 
early as the second century, for at the Palestinian 
synod on the Easter controversy Cassius, the bishop 
of Tyre, and Clarus, the bishop of Ptolemais, still 
took counsel with the bishops of Aelia and of 
Cesarea (Eus., H.H., v. 25), to whom they were 
accordingly, it may be, subordinate. On the other 
hand, Marinus of 'yre is mentioned in a letter of 
Dionysius of Alexandria (¢bzd., vii. 5. 1) in such a 
way as to make his metropolitan dignity extremely 
probable. Martyrs in Tyre, during the great per- 
secution, are noted by Eusebius, vii. 7. 1 (vii. 8), 
viii. 18. 3 (bishop Tyrannion), Mart. Pal., v. 1 (vii. 1). 
Origen died at Tyre and was buried there. It is 
curious also to note that the learned Antiochene 
priest Dorotheus, the teacher of Eusebius, was 
appointed by the emperor (Diocletian, or one of his 
immediate predecessors) to be the director of the 
purple-dying trade in Tyre (Kus., H.H., vii. 32). A 
particularly libellous edict issued by the emperor 
Daza against the Christians, is preserved by Eusebius 
(ix. 7), who copied it from the pillar in Tyre on 
which it was cut, and the historian’s work reaches 


1 In the pseudo-Clementine Homilies, the island of Aradus 
(xii. 12), Orthosia (xii. 1), and Paltus (xiii. 1), the frontier-town 
between Syria and Phoenicia, are all mentioned. Whether 
Christians existed there at that date is uncertain. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 273 


its climax in the great speech upon the reconstruc- 
tion. of the church at Tyre, “by far the most 
beautiful in all Phoenicia” (x. 4). The speech is 
dedicated to Paulinus, bishop of Tyre, in whose 
honour indeed the whole of the tenth book of its 
history is written. Unfortunately we get no 
information whatever, from this long address, upon 
the Christian community at Tyre. 

In Sidon the presbyter Zenobius (EKus., H.#., viii. 
13. 3) died during the great persecution, as did some 
Christians at Damascus (ix. 5). 

Kleven bishops, but no chor-episcopi, were present 
at the council of Nicea from Phoenicia; namely, 
the bishops of Tyre, Ptolemais, Damascus, Sidon, 
Tripolis, Paneas, Berytus, Palmyra, Alasus," Emesa, 
and Antaradus.” 

Already (under Palestine) I have noted that Jewish 
Christians also resided in Paneas (on which town see, 
too, Eus., H.E., vi. 17. 18).* 

Tripolis is mentioned even before the council of 
Nicea (in Mart. Pal., iii., where a Christian named 
Dionysius comes from Tripolis); the Apostolic Con- 
stitutions (vii. 46) affirm that Marthones was bishop 
of this town as early as the apostolic age; while, 
previous to the council of Nicwa, Hellanicus, the 
local bishop, opposed Arius (Theodoret, H.E., 1. 4), 


1 Where is this town to be sought for ? 

- 2 The last-named is not quite certain (see Gelzer, loc. cit., p. 
Ixy. f.). Probably a twelfth still falls to be added, if the @cdéy of 
some MSS. is genuine, and if we may identify it with “Thelsea”’ 
near Damascus (Itin. Ant., 196. 2). 

8 This passage at any rate leads us to infer that Christians existed 
there, whether the well-known statue (see above, vol. i. p. 145) 
really was a statue of Christ, or was merely taken to represent him. 

VOL. Il. 18 


274 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


ow 


though Gregory, bishop of Berytus, sided with him 
(loc. cit.; for Berytus see also Mart. Pal. iv.). 
Eusebius (vill. 13) calls Silvanus, at the period of 
the great persecution, bishop, not of Kmesa but of 
“the churches round Emesa” (tov aut thy “Euoay 
exkAnoiwv émiskomos).. Kmesa then resembled Gaza ; 
owing to the fanaticism of the inhabitants, Christians 
were unable to reside within the town itself, and had 
to quarter themselves in the adjoining villages. 
Anatolius, the successor of Silvanus, was the first to 
take up his abode within the town. With regard to 
Heliopolis we have this definite information, that the 
town acquired its first church and bishop, thanks to 
Constantine, after 325 a.p. (ep. Vita Constant., ili. 58, 
and Socrat., i. 18).2> The Mart. Syriacum mentions 
one martyr, Lucius, at Heliopolis. Christians also 


1 In ix. 6 he is simply called bishop, and he is said to have 
been martyred by Daza after an episcopate of forty years. 

2 Eusebius strongly emphasizes the unprecedented fact of a 
church being founded and a bishop being appointed at Heliopolis 
itself. ‘Then he proceeds: “In his zealous care to have as many as 
possible won over to the doctrine of the gospel, the emperor gave . 
generous donations for the support of the poor at this place also, so 
as even thus to stir them up to receive the truths of salvation. He, 
too, might almost have said with the apostle, ‘ Whether in pretence 
or in truth, let Christ anyhow be proclaimed.’”’ How tenaciously 
paganism maintained itself, however, in Heliopolis (which was still 
a predominantly pagan town in the sixth century) is shown by 
Schultze, op. ci., ii. pp. 250 f. On the local situation towards the 
close of the fourth century, see the notice of Peter of Alexandria 
(Theod., H.E., iv. 19): “In Heliopolis no inhabitant will so much 
as listen to the name of Christ, for they are all idolaters. . . . The 
devil’s ways of pleasure are in full vogue there. . . . The governor 
of the city himself is one of the leading idolaters” (ep. Sozom., vii. 
15). As late as 57 the pagans were still in the majority at 
Heliopolis, but shortly before the irruption of Islam the local church 
had got the upper hand. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 275 


were deported (Mart. Pal., xiii. 2) by Daza to 
Lebanon for penal servitude. 

One martyrdom makes it plain that there were 
Christians at Byblus.—Further, and finally, we have 
to recall an interesting inscription, dated in the year 
318-319 a.D. (630 of the Seleuc. era), which was 
discovered at Deir Ali (Lebaba), about three miles 
south of Damascus, by Le Blas and Waddington. 
It runs as follows :— 


Duvaywyn Mapkioncrey Kwi.( 79) 
AcBaBev tov K(upto)u Ka ow(T7)p(os) In(cov) Xpyarov 


7 povowa( t) ILavAov a pea B(uTepov )—rTov Ax’ erous,? 


[‘‘The meeting-house of the Marcionists, in the village of 
Lebaba, of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 
Erected by the forethought of Paul a presbyter—In the year 630.” |? 


Thus there was a Marcionite community near 
Damascus in the year 318 (319) a.p. (Already, 
p- 260, we have found a Marcionite bishop in 
Palestine about the same period.) 

We have no information in detail upon the diffusion 
and density of the Christian population throughout 
Pheenicia. More general and satisfactory notices are 
to hand with regard to Syria, a province with which 
Phoenicia was at that time very closely bound up, for 
the Phcenician tongue had long ago been dislodged 
by Syriac.* From the state of matters which still 
obtained in the second half of the sixth century, 


1 Insc. Grec. et Latines; iii. 1870, No. 2558,-p. 582; ep. Harnack 
in Zeitschr. f. miss. Theol. (1876), pp. 103 f. 

2 [z.e. of the Seleucid era. | 

3 On Constantine’s destruction of the temple of Aphrodite in 
Aphaka, in the Lebanon, see Vita Constant., iii. 55. 


276 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


however, it is perfectly plain that Christianity got a 
firm footing only on the seaboard, while the inland 
district of Phoenicia remained entirely pagan in the 
main. Yet it was but recently, not earlier than the 
third century, that these Phcenician-Hellenic cults 
had undergone a powerful revival. 

It is worthy of notice that the majority of the 
Phoenician towns where Christians or Christian bishops 
ean be traced, lay on the coast; 2.e. they were towns 
with a strong Greek population. In the large pagan 
cities of worship, Emesa and Heliopolis, on the other 
hand, Christians were not tolerated. Once we leave 
out inland localities where Marcionites and Jewish 
Christians resided, the only places in the interior 
where Christians can be traced are Damascus, 
Paneas, and Palmyra. Damascus, the great trading 
city, was Greek (cp. Mommsen’s Rém. Gesch., v. 
p- 473; Eng. trans., i. 146), as was Paneas, and in 
Palmyra, the headquarters of the desert-trade, a 
strong Greek element also existed (Mommsen, pp. 
425 f.; Eng. trans., 11. 96 f.). The national royal 
house in Palmyra, with its Greek infusion, was well 
disposed towards the scanty indigenous Christians 
of Syria, as may be inferred from the relations 
subsisting between Paul of Samosata and Zenobia, 
no less than from the policy adopted by Rome 
against him. 


§ 38. CoELE-SyRIA. 
In accordance with its tendency towards universal 


dominion, Christianity streamed from Jerusalem as 
far as Antioch (Acts xi.), the greatest city of the 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. 2%7 


East and the third city in the Roman empire, ere 
a few years had passed over its head. It was in 
Antioch that it got its name, which in all probability 
was originally a nickname ;' for Antioch was a city 
of nicknames and of low-class literature. Here the 
first Gentile Christian community grew up; for 
it was adherents of Jesus drawn from paganism 
who were called “Christians” (cp. pp. 15 f.). Here 
Barnabas laboured. Here the great apostle Paul 
found his sphere of action, and ere long the Christian 
community became so important, possessed of such a 
vigorous self-consciousness and such independent 
activity, that its repute rivalled that of the Jerusalem- 
church itself.” Between the churches of Jerusalem 
and Antioch the cardinal question of the Gentile 
Christians was debated ; it was the church of Antioch 
which took the most decided step forward in the 
history of the gospel; and as early as the second 
century it gave further expression*® to its church- 
consciousness by designating the apostle Peter as its 


1 According to Theophilus, ad Autol., i. 12, the pagans in Antioch 
even as late as 180 a.p. took the name “ Christian” as a term of 
ridicule. 

2 In this connection special moment attaches to Acts xi. 27 f. 
(where the wealthier church of Antioch supports the brethren in 
Judza), and further, to Acts xiii. 1 f.: "Hoav év ’Avtioxeia Kata tiv 
ovoav éxxAyolav tpopyrat Kai diddoKador 6 te BapvdBas Kat Lupedv 6 
kadovpevos Niyep, kat Aovxwos 6 Kupyvaios, Mavayy te “Hpwdov tod 
Tetpaxov avvtpopos Kat Zadtros. evroupyotvtwv 8€ aitav TO Kupiw Kal 
VNTTEVOVTWV Elev TO TVED LA TO dyLov: adopicate 84 por Tov BapvdBav 
kal LadAov eis TO Epyov, x.7.X. At the very outset a certain Nicolaus, 
mpooy\vtos “Avtioxeds (a proselyte from Antioch), appears as a 
guardian of the poor in Jerusalem. 

° As also by the device of placing a great apostolic synod at 
Antioch (see the Excursus to Chap. V., Book I.). 


278 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


first bishop—although, to judge from Gal. ii. 11 f., 
it was no glorious role that he had played in 
Antioch. 

We know next to nothing of the history of 
Christianity in Coele-Syria during the first three 
centuries,: but a whole series of data is available 
for its history in Antioch itself. We possess, for 
example, the list of the Antiochene episcopate,” and 
the very names are instructive. Euodius, Ignatius, 
Heron, Cornelius, Eros, Theophilus, Maximinus, 
Serapion, Asclepiades, Philetus, Zebinus, Babylas, 
Fabius, Demetrianus, Paulus, Domnus, ‘Timeus, 
Cyrillus, Tyrannus—the large majority of these 
names are Greek, and Greek was the language of 
the church. Its fame is established by Ignatius, 
after Paul. Several features (though they are not 
many) in the contemporary situation of the church 
at Antioch can be made out from the epistles of 
Ignatius, who proudly terms it “the church of Syria.” 
He, too, had been preceded by other writers, so it was 
given out—quite erroneously, of course—in a later 
age. The bishops, Theophilus, Serapion, and Paulus,’ 


1 We know that a seat, or the seat, of the sect of the Elkesaites 
was at Apamea, whence the Elkesaite Alcibiades travelled to Rome 
(Hipp., Philos., ix. 13). 

2 Cp. my Chronologie, i. pp. 208 f. and elsewhere. 

3 The Apology of pseudo-Melito (Otto’s Corp. Apol. ix.), composed 
about the beginning of the third century, was probably written in 
Syriac originally (and in Coele-Syria), but it is the one Syriac writing 
which can be named in this connection. Investigations into the 
Acts of Thomas have not yet advanced far enough to enable us to 
arrive at any certain decision upon the question whether they 
belong to the province of Edessa or to that of Western Syria. The 
overwhelming probability is, however, that they were composed in 
Syriac, and that they belong to Edessa—and in fact to the circle 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 279 


however, were authors, as was the Antiochene pres- 
byter Geminus (Jerome, de vir. ill., lxiv.). Famous 
schools of learning were held by the presbyter Malchion 
(Eus., H.H., vu. 29), the presbyter Dorotheus (vii. 
23), and above all by Lucian. The church of Antioch 
also took its share in the great general controversies, 
the Montanist, the Novatian, the baptismal, and the 
Christological, and it maintained a lively intercourse 
with other churches. It mediated between the church 
at large, which was substantially Greek, and the 
Syriac East, just as the Roman church did between 
the former and the Latin-speaking West.’ Further, 
unless the evidence is totally misleading, it was the 
church of Antioch which introduced into the cultus 
of Greek Christendom its strongly rhetorical element 
—an element of display and fantasy. Once more, 
it was in this church that the dynamic Christology 
received its most powerful statement, that Arianism 
arose, and that the ablest school of exegesis flourished. 

The central position of the church is depicted in 
the great synods held at Antioch in the middle of the 
third century. Dionysius of Alexandria (Kus., H.E., 
vi. 46) wrote to Cornelius of Rome that he had been 
invited to a synod at Antioch (251 a.p.) by Helenus 


of that great Eastern missionary and teacher, Bardesanes; cp. 
Néldeke in Lipsius: Apokr. Apostelgeschichten, ii. 2, pp. 423 f., and 
Burkitt in the Journal of Theological Studies, i. pp. 280 f. The 
gnostic Saturninus (Satornil) also belonged to Antioch (ep. Iren., 
‘I. xxiv. 1), and other gnostic sects and schools originated in 
Syria. 

! It is instructive to observe how Cornelius of Rome plumes 
himself upon the greatness of Rome, in writing to Fabius of 
Antioch (Eus., H.E., vi. 43). He had good occasion to do so, in 
view of Antioch itself. 


280 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


of Tyre and the other bishops of the country, as well 
as by Firmilian of Cappadocia and Theoktistus, a 
Palestinian bishop (of Cesarea). The outcome of 
the synod is described by him in a letter to Stephen 
of Rome (2bzd., vi. 5): “ Know that all the churches 
of the East, and even beyond it, which previously were 
divided, have once more become united. All over, 
the bishops are harmonious and unanimous, greatly 
delighted at the unexpected restoration of peace 
among the churches.” He then proceeds to enume- 
rate the bishops of Antioch, Czsarea, Aelia, Tyre, 
Laodicea, ‘Tarsus, “and all the churches of Cilicia, 
besides Firmilian and all Cappadocia—for, to avoid 
making my letter too long, I have merely named the 
most prominent among them. Add all Syria and 
Arabia, with Mesopotamia, Pontus, and Bithynia.” 
Setting aside the two last-named provinces, we may 
say that this forms a list of the provinces over which 
the influence of Antioch normally extended.t To 
the last great synod at Antioch against Paulus, the 
Antiochene bishop, no fewer than seventy or eighty 
bishops gathered from all the provinces, from Pontus 
to Egypt ;* for it must be remembered, the Christ- 
ological crisis, in which their metropolitan was the 
“heretic” of the hour, was of supreme moment to 


1 This also serves to explain the well-known passage in the sixth 
canon of Nicaea: dpuoiws d& Kat Kata ’Avtiyeav Kal év tais aAXNats 
erapxiais Ta mper Beta cwlerOar tais exxAyotas (“ Likewise with 
regard to Antioch and throughout the other provinces, the churches 
are to have their due prerogatives secured to them’”’). 

2 Eusebius (H.E., vii. 28) speaks of jvpux (“thousands”), 
Athanasius gives seventy (de synod. 43), and Hilarius (de synod. 86), 
eighty bishops. Basilius Diaconus (fifth century) gives a hundred 
and eighty. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. 281 


the church. Unfortunately we know nothing of the 
seats of these bishops." 

Although the information which we possess upon 
the appearance of Paul at Antioch in the role of 
bishop comes from a hostile pen, it throws light on 
the size and secular conformation of the local 
Christian community in the second half of the third 
century (Eus., H.L., vii. 30).? “ At an earlier period 
he was poor and a beggar. He neither inherited any 
means from his parents, nor did he make any money 
by any craft or trade whatever; yet he is now in 
possession of extravagant wealth, thanks to his 
iniquitous transactions, his acts of sacrilege, and his 
extortionate demands upon the brethren. For he 
officiously recommends himself to people who are 
wronged, promising to help them for a consideration. 
Yet all he does is to cheat them, making a profit for 
himself, without any service in return, out of litigants 


! The paper of the Antiochene. synod to the bishops of Rome 
and Alexandria as well as to the whole church (Eus., H.E., vii. 30) 
mentions, in its address, the names of Helenus (Tarsus), Hymen- 
zeus (Jerusalem), Theophilus (?), Theoteknus (Cesarea), Maximus 
(Bostra), Proclus (?), Nicomas (?), Aelianus (?), Paulus (?), Bolanus (?), 
Protogenes (?), Hierax (?), Eutychius (?), Theodorus (?), Malchion 
(presbyter of Antioch), and Lucius (probably also a presbyter 
of Antioch). Unfortunately, the bishoprics of the majority are 
unknown. 

2 According to Oriental sources of information (cp. Westphal, 
Unters. uiber die Quellen und die Glaubmiirdigkeit der Patriarchalchroni- 
ken des Mari ibn Sulaiman, etc., 1901, pp. 62 f.), Demetrianus, 
‘Paul’s predecessor in the see of Antioch, was exiled to Persia. 
This tradition, which answers to the general situation and has 
nothing against it (it was unknown to me when I wrote my 
Chronology of Early Christian Literature), proves that about 
200 a.p. both the church of Antioch and its bishop possessed some 
political weight. 


282 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


who are quite ready to pay money in order to get 
quit of a troublesome business. Thus he treats piety 
as a means of making some profit. He is haughty 
and puffed up; he is invested with secular dignities ; 
he would rather be called ‘ducenarius’ [an imperial 
procurator of the second rank] than ‘bishop’; he 
strides ostentatiously up and down the public squares, 
reading or dictating letters publicly in the middle of 
his walk, and having a numerous retinue who escort 
him in front and behind. ‘Thus by his arrogance and 
insolence our faith wins ill-will and hatred from the 
public. In the assemblies of the church his inordi- 
nate ambition and vainglorious pride make him behave 
in an inexplicable fashion, and thus he captivates the 
minds of simple folks till they actually admire him. 
He has a platform and a high throne erected for 
himself, unlike a disciple of Christ. Also, like secular 
officials, he has his private cabinet (secretum). He 
strikes his hand upon his thigh, stamps with his feet 
upon the platform, and inveighs with insolent insults 
against those who, instead of breaking out in applause 
of himself, or waving their handkerchiefs like the 
audience in a theatre, or shouting aloud and jumping 
like the men and women of his own company who 
behave in this indecent fashion, prefer to listen to him 
reverently and quietly as befits the house of God. 
Dead expositors of the word of God are assailed in 
public with coarse and vulgar taunts, while the speaker 
exalts himself in swelling terms as if he were a 
sophist or juggler and not a bishop. Hymns in 
praise of our Lord Jesus Christ he puts a stop to, as 
too recently composed by modern men; whereas he 
has songs sung to his own praise and glory by women 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 283 


in the public congregation on the opening day of the 
paschal feast, songs which might well make any 
audience shudder. Similar notions are advocated, at 
his instigation, by the bishops of neighbouring 
localities and towns who fawn upon him, as well as 
by the priests in their addresses to the people. Thus 
he will not acknowledge, with us, that the Son of 
God has come down from heaven. . . . Jesus, he says, 
is from below. Whereas those who sing hymns in his 
own honour and publicly praise him, assert that he 
himself has come down as an angel from heaven ; and 
instead of checking such outbursts, he is even present 
in all his arrogance when they are uttered. Further- 
more, he has ‘virgines subintroductae’ of his own, 
‘lady companions,’ as the people of Antioch call them. 
So have the priests and deacons of his company, of 
which, as of all the rest of their pernicious errors, he 
is perfectly cognisant. But he connives at them, in 
order to attach the men to himself, and prevent them, 
through fear of personal consequences, from daring 
to challenge his own unrighteous words and deeds. 
... Even if he should have committed no act of 
immorality [with regard to the ‘virgines’], still he 
ought to have eschewed the suspicion of it... . He 
has indeed dismissed one such woman, but he still 
retains two in the bloom and beauty of their sex, 
takes them with him on his travels, and lives mean- 
while in sumptuous and luxurious fashion. Such 
-practices make everyone groan and lament in private. 
But no one dares to bring him to task, such is their 
dread of his authority and tyranny. Yet for such 
practices one would call him to account [?.e. not 
condemning him outright, nor conniving at his 


284 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


actions], if he still held the catholic position and 
belonged to our own number.” 

I have quoted this passage 7m extenso, as I think it 
is extremely important for the spread and the position 
of the church in Antioch at that period. The best 
established feature in the whole description (for the 
malicious charges, which are a proof of Antiochene 
journalism, may be largely relegated to the back- 
ground) is that the bishop had by this time assumed, 
or been forced to assume, the customs and forms of 
a high state-official, a feature which brings out very 
clearly the development and importance of the local 
Christian community. Besides, the relations between 
Paul and the royal house of Palmyra (Syrian by race), 
so far as these are known or may be conjectured,’ 
show that Christianity already played a political roéle 
in Antioch. Furthermore, the authentic document 
given by Eusebius tells us that Paul refused to admit 
his condemnation, nor did he evacuate his episcopal 
residence. Whereupon—Zenobia .meanwhile having 
been conquered by Rome, and the collateral rule of 
the house of Palmyra having been overthrown in 
Kgypt and throughout the Kast—the matter was laid 
before the emperor Aurelian, who ordered (a.D. 272) 
the residence to be handed over to the bishop with 
whom the Christian bishops of Italy and Rome were 


! Paul’s entrance on his episcopate at Antioch fell at the very 
period, and probably in the very year, when the Persians captured 
Antioch. As soon as the Persians retreated, Gallienus appointed 
Odenathus to what was really an independent authority over 
Palmyra and the East. Paul must have understood admirably how 
to curry favour with this ruler and his queen Zenobia, for, in spite 
of his episcopal position, he was imperial procurator of the second 
rank in Antioch. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 285 


in epistolary communion. This forms a conspicuous 
example of the political significance attaching to the 
church of Antioch. 

It is impossible to make any statistical calculations 
as to the dimensions of the church about 820 a.p., but 
at any rate there were several churches in the city 
(Theod., H.H., 1. 2), and if the local Christians were 
in the majority in Julian’s reign, their number must 
have been very large as early as the year 320. 
Diodorus and Chrysostom preached in what was 
substantially a Christian city, as the latter explicitly 
attests in several passages. He gives the number of the 
inhabitants (excluding slaves and children) at 200,000 
(Hom. in Ignat. 4), the total of members belonging 
to the chief church being 100,000 (Hom. 85 [86] ec. 
4.)' Antioch in early days was always the strong- 
hold of Eastern Christianity, and the local church 
was perfectly conscious of its vocation as the church 
of the metropolis. ‘The horizon of the Antiochene 
bishop extended as far as Mesopotamia and Persia, 
Armenia and Georgia, and he felt himself in duty 
bound to superintend the mission and consolidation 
of the church throughout these countries. Similarly, 
he recognized his duties with regard to the defence 
of the church against heretics. It was from Antioch 
that the missionary impulse of Chrysostom proceeded, 
as well as the vigorous campaign against the heretics 
waged by the great exegetes, Diodorus and Theodoret, 
~ Chrysostom and Nestorius. — 

Outside the gates of Antioch, that “fair city of the 
1 Cp. Schultze (op. cit., ii. p. 263); Gibbon (The Decline and Fall, 


Germ. trans. by Sporschil, ii. p. 219) takes the 100,000 to represent 
the total of the Christians in Antioch itself, 


286 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Greeks” (see Isaac of Antioch’s Carmen 15, ed. 
Bickell, i. 294), Syriac was the language of the 
people, and only in the Greek towns of the country 
was it displaced by Greek. The Syriac spirit was 
wedded to it, however, and remained the predominant 
factor in religious and in social life. Yet in the 
distinctively Syrian world, Christianity operated from 
Edessa (see below) rather than from Antioch, unless 
we are wholly mistaken. The wide districts lying 
between both cities were consequently evangelized 
from two centres during the third century; from 
Antioch in the West by means of a Greek Christian 
propaganda, and from Edessa in the East by means 
of one which was Syriac Christian. Hence we must 
infer that the larger towns practically adopted the 
former, while the country towns and villages went 
over to the latter. The work of conversion, so it 
would appear, made greater headway in Coele-Syria, 
however, than in Pheenicia. By about 325 the 
districts round Antioch seem to have contained a 
very large number of Christians, and one dated (331) 
Christian inscription from a suburban village runs as 
follows: ‘Christ, have mercy; there is but one God.” 
In Chrysostom’s day these Syrian villages appear to 
have been practically Christian. Lucian, the priest 
of Antioch, avows in his speech before the magistrate 
in Nicomedia (311 a.p.) that “almost the greater 
part of the world now adheres to this Truth, yea 
whole cities; even if any seems suspect, there 
is no doubt regarding multitudes of country- 
folk, who are innocent of guile” (“pars paene 
mundi iam maior huic veritati adstipulatur, urbes 
integrae, aut si in his aliquid suspectum videtur, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 287 


contestatur de his etiam agrestis manus, ignara 
figmenti”); and although this may embody impres- 
sions which he had just received in Bithynia, there 
was substantially a basis for the statement to be 
found in the local circumstances of Syria. The 
numbers of the clergy in 303 throughout Syria are 
evident from Eus., H.#H., vii. 6: “ An enormous 
number were put in prison at every place. The 
prisons, hitherto reserved for murderers and riflers 
of graves, were now packed everywhere with bishops, 
priests, deacons, lectors, and exorcists.” The data 
at our command are as follows :— 

(1) Acts (xv.) already tells of churches in Syria 
besides Antioch. 

(2) Ignatius, @ propos of Antioch (ad Philad. 10), 
mentions “churches in the neighbourhood” (éyyora 
éxkAyoiat) Which had already bishops of their own. 
These certainly included Seleucia, the seaport of 
Antioch mentioned in Acts xiii. 4. 

(3) Apamea was a centre of the Elkesaites (cp. 
above, vol. i. pp. 71, 465). 

(4) Dionys. Alex. (in Eus., H.., vii. 5) observes 
that the Roman church frequently sent contributions 
to the Syrian churches. 

(5) The communication of the Antiochene synod 
of 268 (Eus., vil. 30), mentions, in connection with 
Antioch, “bishops of the neighbouring country and 

cities ” (ericKxorot Tay OMopwv ay pov Te kal TOAewy), Krom 
-Eus., vi. 12, we know that by about 200 a.p. there 
was a Christian community (and a_ bishop?) at 
Rhossus which was gravitating towards Antioch. 

(6) Two chor-episcopi from Coele-Syria attended 
the council of Nicea. In Martyrol. Hieron. (Achelis, 


288 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Mart. Hieron., p. 168), a martyrdom is noted as 
having occurred “in Syria vico Margaritato,” as 
well as another (p. 177 f.) ‘in Syria provincia regione 
Apameae vico Aprocavictu,” but both these places 
are unknown. 

(7) The number of town-bishops from Coele-Syria 
who were present at Nicaea was, relatively, very 
considerable ; representatives were there from Antioch, 
Seleucia, Laodicea, Apamea, Raphanea, Hierapolis, 
Germanicia (= Marasch), Samosata, Doliche, Balanez 
(cp. Hom. Clem., xiii. 1), Gabula, Zeugma, Larisa, 
Epiphania, Arethusa, Neoceesarea, Cyrrus, Gindarus, 
Arbokadama, and Gabbala (= Gaba?). These towns 
lay in the most diverse districts of this wide country, 
on the seaboard, in the valley of the Orontes, in the 
Euphrates valley, between the Orontes and the 
Kuphrates, and in the north. Their distribution 
shows that Christianity was fairly uniform and fairly 
strong in Syria about 325,’ as is strikingly proved 
by the rescript of Daza to Sabinus (Eus., HE., ix. 9) 
—for we are to think of the experiences undergone 
by the churches of Syrian Antioch and Asia Minor, 
when we read the emperor’s words about cxedov 
d7ravtTas avOparrovs katadepOeicns THs Tov Dewy Opnokelas To 

1 The opposition offered to Christianity varied considerably in 
the various towns. In Apamea it would seem to have been particu- 
larly keen. Even as regards c. 400 a.p., Sozomen (vii. 15) observes : 
Supwv 8€ pddiora ot Tod vaod “Arapeias: ods ervdunv ext prraxh Tav 
Tap avTos vaov cuppaxiats ypyoacOar ToAAGKIs TadiAaiwy avdpav Kat 
Tov wept Tov AcBavov Kwudv, TO d€ TeAevTaioy eri ToaodTov mpoedOeiv 
roApys @s MdpxedXov tov tHe ericxoroy avedeiv (“I have been told 
that the Syrian inhabitants of Apamea often employed the men of 
Galilee and the Lebanon villages to aid them in a military defence 


of their temple, and that at last they actually went so far as to 
slay the local bishop”’) [who had had the temple demolished}. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 289 


€Over Tay X pioriavov éauTovs cuppmeuryoras (* almost all 
men abandoning the worship of the gods and attaching 
themselves to the Christian people”). This remark 
is not to be taken simply as a rhetorical flourish. 
For after speaking in one place about the first edict 
of Diocletian, Eusebius proceeds as follows: ov« eis 
Mau pov Oe ETEPWV cata thy MeXernvyy orm KaXoupevny Xopay 
kat av madw dAAwy aul THY Dupiav emupunvar ™ Bacirela 
TeTELPAUeVWY, TOUS TavTaXdce THY eKKAYTIOY TpOETTHTAS 
eloKTais Kal decors éverpat T pooray ba epoira BaciXtkov 
(‘* Not long afterwards, as some people in the district 
called Melitene and in other districts throughout 
Syria, attempted to usurp the kingdom, a royal 
decree went forth to the effect that the head 
officials of the churches everywhere should be put 
in prison and chains,” vill. 6. 8). Eusebius does not 
say it in so many words, but the context makes it 
quite clear that the emperor held the Christians 
responsible for both of these outbreaks (that in 
Melitene being unknown to history); which shows 
that the Christians in Melitene and Syria must have 
been extremely numerous, otherwise the emperor 
would never have met revolutionary outbursts (which 
in Syria and, one may conjecture, in Melitene also, 
originated with the army) with edicts against the 
Christian clergy. 

All that we know about the earlier history of» 
Christianity in the towns is confined to some facts 
about lLaodicea (where bishop Thelymidres was 
prominent about 250 a.p.; cp. Eus., vi. 46; he was 
followed by Heliodorus, vii. 5, and subsequently by 
Eusebius of Alexandria, and the famous Anatolius, 
vii. 382), Arethusa (ep. Vit. Constant., m1. 62), and 


VOL. LL. 19 


290 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Samosata (the birthplace of Paul of Antioch, 
though we do not know if he was of Christian 
birth). The bishop of Rhossus was not at Nicea 
(though Rhossus may also be assigned to Cilicia). 
But, as we have seen above, Rhossus did possess 
a Christian church about 200 a.p., which came 
under the supervision of the church at Antioch. 
There was a Jewish Christian church at Beroea 
(Aleppo) in the fourth century (cp. p. 251).’ 

Finally, we have to take account of the pseudo- 
Clementine epistle de virginitate, which probably 
belongs to the beginning of the third century, and 
either to Palestine or to Southern Syria.” It contains 
directions for itinerant ascetics, and five classes are 
given of places where such people stayed and passed 
the night. (1) Places with a number of married 
brethren and _ ascetics; (2) places with married 
brethren but without ascetics ; (3) places where there 
were only Christian wives and girls; (4) places where 
there was only one Christian woman; and (5) places 
where there were no Christians at all. The third and 
fourth classes are of special interest. They testify 


1 Of one bishop in Syria (zpoearws tis THs exkAnotas), Hippolytus 
relates (tn Daniel, p. 230, ed. Bonwetsch; see above, p. 233) that 
his enthusiastic fanaticism seduced his fellow-members into the 
wilderness with their wives and children in order to meet Christ. 
The local governor had them arrested, and they were almost 
condemned as robbers, had not the governor’s wife, who was a 
believer (otca micry), interceded on their behalf. Unfortunately 
Hippolytus does not name the locality—There were Novatian 
churches also in Syria (cp, the polemical lecture of Eusebius of 
Emesa, in the fourth century; Fabius of Antioch had sided with 
the Novatians). But we do not know where to look for them. 

2 Cp. my study of it in the Silzungsberichte d.k. Pr. Akad. Wiss., 
1891, pp. 361 f. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN "TO"325 AMD. * 291 


to what is otherwise well known, viz., that women 
formed the majority within the Christian communities. 
We also get an instructive picture of the state of 
morals and manners, in the directions given for the 
behaviour of an ascetic in places where no Christians 
were to be found at all. This account [for which see 
vol. 1. pp. 254-255, note] has small country churches 
in view. And their number must have been con- 
siderable. ‘Theodoret observes that his diocese of 
Cyrrus contained 800 parishes. By that time, of 
course, over a century had passed since the days of 
Constantine, but nevertheless a number of these 
parishes were earlier than that emperor’s reign. 


§ 4. Cyprus. 


At Salamis and Paphos Barnabas the Cypriote and 
Paul had already done mission-work (Acts xiii.), 
while Barnabas and Mark once more returned to the 
island later on as missionaries (Acts xv.). Jews 
abounded in Cyprus, so that the way lay open for 
the Christian propaganda. It was Cypriote Jewish 
Christians who brought the gospel to Antioch (Acts 
x1.). The heretic Valentinus is said ultimately to 
have laboured in Cyprus, and during the great 
persecution Christians from the mainland were 
banished to the mines of Cyprus (Mart. Pal., xiii. 2). 
Three - Cypriote bishops, from Salamis, Paphos, and 
_ Trimithus, were present at the council of Nicaea, and 
three bishoprics for an island of no great size indicate 
a strong church. Nor were these all; for in the 
history of Spyridon, bishop of Trimithus, we hear of 
“bishops of Cyprus,” amongst whom was Triphyllius, 


292 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


bishop of Ledrae (Sozom., i. 11). Rufinus, Socrates 
(i. 12), and Sozomen, all tell us about Spyridon. 
He was a yeoman and herdsman, and remained so 
even after he was elected a bishop—which throws 
light upon the classes of the population to which 
Christianity had penetrated. Triphyllius, his col- 
league, again, was a man of high culture who had 
studied jurisprudence at Berytus. Sozomen tells a 
good story about the relations between the two men. 
At a provincial synod in Cyprus, Triphyllius was 
preaching, and in describing the story of the paralytic 
man he used the word cxiu7ovs (“bed”) instead of the 
popular term «paBarroy (“pallet”). Kai 6 Yzupidwr 
aryavaxTncas, ov ov Ye en, apuelvwy TOU cpa Barov elpyKOoTos, 
OTL Talis avToU NeEeow eT UT XUYN Kexpno Oat ( Whereupon 
Spyridon wrathfully exclaimed, ‘ Art thou greater than 
he who spake the word “bed,” that thou art ashamed 
to use the very words which he used?’”). ‘The story 
illustrates one phase of the history of local culture. 


§ 5. Epressa AND THE East (MEsoporaMIa, 
Persia, PARTHIA, AND INDIA). 


Perhaps the most remarkable fact in the history 
of the spread of Christianity is the rapid and firm 
footing which it secured in Edessa. The tradition 
about the correspondence between Jesus and king 
Abgar, and about the local labours of Thomas or 
Thaddeus (Kus., H.H., i. 18), is of course entirely. 
legendary, while Eusebius is wrong in asserting (ii. 1. 
7) that the entire city had been Christian from the 
apostolic age to his own time. But the statement 
must hold true of the age at which he wrote. In 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 293 


part, also, it applies still further. For there is no 
doubt that even before 190 a.p. Christianity had 
spread vigorously within Edessa and its surroundings, 
and that (shortly after 201 or even earlier?) the royal 
house joined the church,’ while even during the 
Kaster controversy (c. 190 a.p.) “the churches in 
Osroene and the local towns” (implying that there 
were several bishoprics) addressed a communication 
to Rome.’ Christianity in Edessa starts with two 
persons, Tatian “the Assyrian” and Bardesanes (born 
154 a.p.). The former compiled his volume of the 
gospels (or “ Diatessaron”) for the Syrian church, 
while the latter established and acclimatized Chris- 
tianity by dint of his keen doctrinal activity, his 
fanciful theology, and his sacred songs. Neither was 
a “Catholic” Christian. Measured by the doctrinal 
standards of the Catholic confederation, both were 
heretics. But they were “mild” heretics? And 


1 On the “ Acta Edessena”’ see Tixeront’s Les origines de léglse 
d’ Edesse (1888), Carriére’s La légende d’Abgar (1895), von Dob- 
schiitz’s “ Christusbilder”’ in the Texte u. Unters., N.F. iii., and my 
Litt.-Geschichte, i. pp. 533 f. The great church-buildings were not 
erected till 313 (ep. the chronicle of Edessa in Texte u. Unters., ix. 1, 
p- 93), but there was a Christian church as early as 201 (cp. zbzd., 
p. 86). 

2 In the Doctrina Addaei (p. 50; Phillips) Serapion of Antioch 
(192-209) is said to have consecrated Palut as bishop of Edessa. 
This may be, but Palut can hardly have been the first bishop of the 
see ; he was the first Catholic bishop. 

3 «As heresies were increasing in Mesopotamia, Bardesanes 
- wrote against the Marcionites and other heretics.” This remark of 
Eusebius (iv. 30) displays astonishing ignorance. In the Philosoph. 
(vii. 31) of Hippolytus, Bardesanes is called “The Armenian” ; a 
distinguished pupil of Marcion, Prepon, is also mentioned and 
described as an “ Assyrian.”—See above, p. 278, for the probable 
connection of the Acta Thome with the circle of Bardesanes. 


294 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


from the beginning of the third century onwards 
Catholics (Palutians) and Bardesanists opposed each 
other in Edessa. 

Tatian’s Diatessaron was retained even by the 
Catholic party in Edessa, although it was not entirely 
orthodox. The version of the gospels by themselves, 
_ which lies before us in the Syrus Sinaiticus and the 
Syrus Curetonianus, possibly originated at a later 
period within Edessa also—the Peshitto, which be- 
longs perhaps to the first half of the fourth century, 
having arisen, it may be, outside Edessa in Coele- 
Syria." It was Edessa, and not any town in Coele- 
Syria, which became the headquarters and missionary 
centre of national Syrian Christianity during the third 
century. From Edessa issued the Syriac versions of 
early Christian literature, and thus Syriac, which 
had been checked by the progress of Greek asa 
language of civilization, became at last a civilized and 
literary tongue. 

The Christian city of Edessa, which probably had 
a larger percentage of Christians among its population 
than any of the larger towns during the period 
previous to Constantine, was certainly an oasis and 
nothing more. Round it swarmed the heathen. A 
few Christians were indeed to be found at Carrhae 
(= Harran), a town which was the seat of Dea Luna 
and contained numerous temples. ‘This we know from 
the martyrdoms.” But in the Peregrinatio Stlviae, 


1 Cp. Nestle’s article on “ Translations of the Bible” in Prot. 
Real-Encykl.®’, iii. pp. 167 f.; and Merx, die vier kanonischen Evan- 
gelien nach ihrem dltesten bekannten Tecate, ii. 1 (1902), pp. x. f. 

2 No bishop, however, was permitted there. The name of the 
first bishop occurs under Constantius. 


———- 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 295 


ec. 20 (circa 385 a.p.) we read: “ In ipsa civitate extra 
paucos clericos et sanctos monachos, si qui tamen in 
civitate commorantur [in the country districts they 
were numerous], penitus nullum Christianum inveni, 
sed totum gentes sunt” (“In the city itself, apart 
from a few clerics and holy monks, who, however, stay 
inside its walls, I found not a single Christian ; all were 
pagans”). Cp. also Theodoret (H.E., iv. 15), who 
describes Carrhae, in the reign of Valens, as a bar- 
barous place full of the thorns of paganism (cp. v. 4, 
li. 21, and similar remarks in Ephraem).1 The 
existence of Christian churches, previous to 325 a.p., 
can be verified for Nisibis,” Resaina, Macedonopolis 
(on the Euphrates, west of Edessa), and Persa 
(= Perra), as the bishops of these towns, together with 
their colleagues from Edessa, attended the Nicene 
councils. (For other evidence regarding Nisibis, see 
Theodoret, H.E., i. 6.) 

As regards the spread of Christianity in Mesopo- 
tamia and Persia, no store whatever can be set by the 
statement (Assemani, Bibl. Orient., iii. 1, p. 611) that 
there were about 360 churches in Persia*® by the 
second century. ‘There is no doubt, however, that 
Dionysius of Alexandria (c. 250 a.p.) not only knew 
churches in Mesopotamia, but mentioned their inter- 


1 Harran was predominantly pagan even as late as Justinian’s 
reign (Procop., de bello pers., ii. 13). Christianity could never get a 
firm foothold there (ep. Chwolson, die Ssabier und der Ssabismus, 
e1s50). 

2 Where Ephraem, the famous Syrian author, was born of Christian 
parents at the beginning of the fourth century. A Christian school 
can be shown to have existed at Nisibis not long afterwards. 

5 See Labourt, le Christianisme dans l empire Perse sous la dynastie 
Sassanide (Paris, 1904). 


296 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


course and relations with other churches (Kus., vii. 5), 
while the dialogue of pseudo-Bardesanes (“On the 
Laws of Countries ”—third century) presupposes a 
considerable extension of Christianity as far as the 
eastern districts of Persia (cp. Eus., Praep. evang., Vi. 
10. 46), and Eusebius himself mentions martyrs in 
Mesopotamia during the persecution of Diocletian.” 
Furthermore, the great Persian persecution during 
the fourth century points to a fairly serious spread of 
Christianity in the course of the third century (cp. 
also the origin of Manichzism and the history of 
Mani in the Acta Archelai, which, of course, are 
partly fictitious—Archelaus himself being described 
by Jerome in the wir. tllustr. \xxii. as bishop of 
Mesopotamia). Constantine writes thus to king 
Sapur: “I am delighted to learn that the finest 
districts in Persia also are adorned with the presence 
of Christians” ;* and finally, reference must be made 


1 Oure ot év IapOia Xpiorvavoi rodvyapovor, UWapbo. tuyxavovres, 
oP of ev Mydia. koi rpotiéacr Tovs veKpovs, ovx oi ev Hepaidu yapodor 
tas Ovyarépas airav, Ilépoa ovres, od rapa Bakrpous kal D'yjAous POeipodtor 
Tovs ydpous, x.7.’. (“ Nor are the Parthian Christians polygamists, 
nor do Christians in Media expose their dead to dogs, nor do 
Persian Christians marry their daughters, nor are those in Bactria 
and among the Gelae, debauched,” etc.). 

2 The Persians are referred to in Constantine’s remark (Vit. Const., 
ii. 53) that the barbarians nowadays boasted of having taken in the 
refugees from the Roman empire during the Diocletian persecution, 
and of having detained them in an extremely mild form of captivity, 
permitting them the unrestricted practice of their religion and all 
that pertained thereto. 

8 Vit. Const., iv. 13; ep. iv. 8: rvOdpevos yé Tor mapa 76 Iepody 
Over tANOive TAS TOD Deot exxAnoias aovs TE pvpiavOpous Tats Xpiorod 
Toipvas evayeAdler Oa, x.7.A. (“On learning that churches of God 
abounded among the Persians, and that thousands of people were 
gathered into the fold of Christ,’ ete.). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 297 


to Aphraates, whose homilies, composed between 
337 and 345, reflect a Christianity substantially un- 
affected by the course of Greek Christianity, and 
therefore occupying the same position before 325 as 
after. They also reflect, at the same time, a vigorous 
and far-reaching ecclesiatical system. In one or two 
localities we can definitely assume the presence of 
Christians before 325, as, ¢.g., at Amida (= Diarbekir ; 
ep. the Abgar-legend, Acta Thadd., 5; the retro- 
spective inferences are certain),’ and, above all, at 
Seleucia-Ctesiphon (as may certainly be inferred from 
the episcopal lists, which are not wholly useless). 
The Persian bishop at Niczea, however, did not come 
from Seleucia.” The existence of Christians at 


1 According to Ebed Jesu, both the bishop of Amida and the 
bishop of Gustra (=Ostra? cp. Bratke’s Religionsgespriich am Hof 
Sassaniden, 1899, p. 264) were at Niczea. 

2 According to Greg. Barhebr., Chron., iii. 22 f., and other 
legendary writers, Seleucia had three successive bishops who were 
relatives of Jesus (!). On Mari, the founder of the patriarchate of 
Seleucia-Ctesiphon, cp. Raabe’s die Geschichte der Dom. Mari (1893), 
and Westphal’s Unters. uber die Quellen u. die Glaubmiirdigheit der 
Patriarchenchroniken (1901), pp. 30 f.; and on an alleged corre- 
spondence of the catholicus Papa of Seleucia (f. 326), see Braun in 
Zeitschr. f. kathol. Theol., xviii. (1894), pp. 167 f. On Papa, see 
Westphal, op. cit., pp. 60 f. The personality of this bishop, who 
died full of years, and perhaps the historicity of the synod which 
he convened (in 313-314 a.p.), may be regarded as indubitable. 
His successor was Simeon bar Sabte, the martyr. Eusebius 
describes how at the consecration of the church in Jerusalem 
there was present one of the Persian bishops, who was a master of 
~ the divine oracles (zapfv xai Tlepoav érickorwv iepdv xpnua, Ta Geta 
Aoya eEnxpiBwxas dvyp, Vit. Const., iv. 43).—The aforesaid Mari 
may have been some actual bishop and missionary on the Tigris, 
but legend has treated him as if he were one of the twelve 
apostles, making him the founder of Christianity throughout the 
entire Eastern Orient. While the legends, which are connected 


298 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Batana, previous to Constantine, may be deduced 
from the Svluiae Peregr. 19, and we may conclude 
from the Acts of the Persian martyrs (edited by 
Hofmann ') that there were also Christians at Harbath, 
Glal, Kerkuk (= Karkha dh Bheth Slokh), Arbela,’ 
Shargerd, Dara, and Lasom. This holds true perhaps 
(to judge from the Acta Archelat) of the village of 
Diodoris in Mesopotamia as well, and of Sibapolis 
(where there was a martyrdom).? A Christian church 


with the central seat of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, and which endeavour 
to throw a special halo round the episcopate as well as to claim 
apostolic origin for the Nestorian church, are exceptionally full of 
tendency and audacity, they are nevertheless transparent in their 
attempt to meet all possible and conflicting wishes (connection 
with Antioch, with Jerusalem, with Jesus himself; complete inde- 
pendence ; and so forth). 

1 Abh. z. Kunde des Morgenlands, vii. 3., pp. 9 f., 46 f. 52, 268 
(also Néldeke, in Gott. Gel. Anz. 1880, p. 873, who opines that 
the first organized Christian church arose on the lower Tigris 
about 170 a.p.). 

2 The bishop who attended Nicea probably came from one or 
other of the two last-named towns (cp. Westphal, pp. 66). 

3 In regard to the spread of Christianity throughout the East, 
Néldeke has been kind enough to write me as follows (Sept. 27, 
1901). ‘It is extremely bold to attempt to exhibit the spread of 
Christianity in great detail, but you have certainly collected a large 
amount of material. Scarcely any serious aid is to be got from 
the East, I imagine, as the few reliable sources which are older 
than the fourth century yield very little, in this connection, beyond 
what is generally known. Aphraates and the early Acts of the 
martyrs show, no doubt, that in the districts of the Tigris Chris- 
tianity was widely diffused, with an organization of bishops and 
clergy, about the middle of the fourth century; but it is pure 
legend to assert that these Persian Christians constituted at that 
period an entire church under some Catholicus. Simeon bar Sabta’e 
was merely bishop of Seleucia and Ctesiphon. The erection of 
churches, which subsequently became Nestorian, did not take 
place until the beginning of the fifth century, and at a still later 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 299 


may also be held to have existed at Kaschkar before 
325 (cp. Westphal, op. cit., p. 34). 

In the third book of his commentary on Genesis, 
Origen touches upon a tradition that Thomas the 
apostle took Parthia as his missionary sphere, while 
Andrew’s was Scythia (cp. Eus., H.., iii. 1). From 
this it may be inferred that Christians were known 
to exist there by the first half of the third century. 
The same holds true of India. Of course the India 
whither Pantanus journeyed from Alexandria (Kus., 
v. 10) may be South Arabia (or even the Axumitic 
kingdom). But the India where the early (third 
century) Acts of Thomas locate that apostle’s work, 
is the N.W. territory of our modern India (for it is 
only Cod. Pani, 1617, of the Martyrdom of Thomas, 
that dragsin Axum ; cp. Bonnet., p. 87). Andrapolis 
is mentioned in Acta Thom. 3 as the scene of the 
apostle’s labour ; for other localities mentioned there, 
see Lipsius: Apokr. Apostelgesch., i. p. 280 (after 
Gutschmid). I pass over the tradition about Andrew, 
which mentions various localities, as well as the 
traditions about Simon and Judas. They are all 


period the Persian Christian church (whose origin is unfortunately 
hidden from us) declined to submit to the Catholicus. The stubborn 
adhesion of the people of Harran to paganism was partly due, indeed, 
to a feeling of locai jealousy of Edessa, which had early been won 
over to Christianity. It is a pity that none of the original Syriac 
writings of the pagans in Harran (‘Sabians’), dating from the 
Islamic period, have been preserved.” Mesopotamia was the birth- 
place of the monk Arnobius, who started a religious movement of 
his own in the days of Arius (ep. Epiph., Har., lxx. 1).—The figures 
relating to the martyrs during the persecution of Sapur are quite 
useless, but it is remarkable to find that here the Jews are still 
described as the chief instigators of persecution. 


300 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


posterior to Constantine (cp. my Chronol., i. pp. 
548 f.). 


§ 6. ARABIA. 


The large districts south of Palestine, Damascus, 
and Mesopotamia which bear the name of “ Arabia ” 
were never cultivated—they were not even subdued— 
by the Romans, with the exception, z.e., of the country 
lying east of the Jordan and of several positions south 
of the Dead Sea (cp. Mommsen’s Rém. Gesch., v. pp. 
471 f.; Eng. trans., i. pp. 143 f.). Consequently we 
can only look for Christians during our epoch? in the 
regions just mentioned, where Arabian, Greek, and 
Roman cities were inhabited by people of superior 
civilization.? Immediately after his conversion Paul 


1 Compare, however, the passage from Origen already quoted 
on p. 159: ‘‘Nec apud Seras nec apud Ariacin audierunt Chris- 
tianitatis sermonem.”——Note that the first Protestant history of 
missions, published in Germany, was concerned with India, viz., M.V. 
La Croze, Hist. du Christ. des Indes, 1724 (cp. Wiegand in the Beitrage 
s. Ford. christl. Theol., vi. 3, pp. 270 f.). La Croze, however, hardly 
touches the primitive age, as he regards the legends about Thomas 
as unauthentic. 

* There are no Arabic versions of the Bible previous to Islam, a 
fact which is the surest proof that in its primitive period Christianity 
had secured no footing at all among the Arabs. Nor did it ever 
secure such a footing, for the Arabic versions were not made for 
Arabs at all, but for Copts and Syrians who had become Arabians,— 
The original source of the Didascalia Apostolorum perhaps arose 
among the Arabs of Petra. 

’ Mommsen, p. 485 (Eng. trans., ii. 158): “At this eastern 
border of the empire there was thus secured for Hellenic civilization 
a frontier domain which may be compared to the Romanized region 
of the Rhine; the arched and domed buildings of eastern Syria 
compare admirably with the castles and tombs of the great men and 
merchants of Belgica.” Bostra flourished pre-eminently after the 
downfall of Palmyra. 


i a. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 291 


betook himself to “ Arabia” (Gal. i. 17), z.e. hardly to 
the desert, but rather to a district south of Damascus 
where he could not expect to come across any Jews. 

We have already seen how the Palestinian Jewish 
Christians settled at Pella and Kochaba. 

In the days of Origen there were numerous 
bishoprics in the towns lying south of the Hauran, 
all of which were grouped together in a single synod. 
Bishop Beryllus of Bostra, well known (according to 
Kusebius, H.E., vi. 20) for his letters and writings, 
caused a great sensation, about 240 a.p., by venting 
a Christological proposition to the effect that no 
personal hypostasis belonged to the Redeemer before 
he appeared in time. ‘The doctrine may have been 
designed to repudiate current conceptions of pre- 
existence as Hellenic ideas, and thus to give ex- 
pression to a national Christian spirit (ep. Paul of 
Samosata’s doctrine). But this is uncertain. What 
is certain (for Eusebius, H.E., vi. 33, reports it) is 
_ that “a large number of bishops” carried on discus- 
sions and debates with him, and for these combatants 
we must look to Arabia especially, although Palestinian 
bishops may have also taken part in the controversy.! 
Kusebius further relates that a synod was held at 
Bostra, to which Origen was invited, and of which 
he was the intellectual leader. Shortly afterwards 
a second synod was held at the same place, at which 
the rather untrustworthy Liber Synodicus declares 


- 1 Two years earlier a provincial synod of Arabia had been held, 
in connection with the proceedings against Origen; it decided in 
the latter's favour (cp. Jerome’s ep., xxxiii. 4). Origen was known 
personally by that time to the Arabian bishops, for about 215 a.p. 
he had travelled as far as Arabia at the request of the Roman 
governor, before whom he laid his views (Eus., HLE., vi. 19). 


30% EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


that fourteen bishops were present. Origen again 
was invited, and again attended. The topic of 
discussion was a doctrine put forward by a section 
of the Arabian bishops, who held that the soul died 
and decayed along with the body, and was revived 
along with it at the resurrection (Eus., H.L., vi. 39). 
The Semitic cast of mind in those who held this view, 
as well as their aversion to Hellenic speculation (with 
its essential immortality of the soul), are perfectly 
obvious. Christianity therefore penetrated such strata 
of the Arabian population as may be called national 
—i.e. it spread among people who, while they rejected 
the Christianity of Alexandrian theology, were not 
barbarians, but worked out a theology of their own.’ 

The Arabian churches were connected with the 
church of Rome; and they required assistance from 
it, as we are fortunate enough to learn from an 
allusion which Dionysius of Alexandria happens to 
make in Eus., H.E., vu. 5.” 

Both the Onomasticon of Eusebius and the Acts 
of the Council of Nicza indicate the presence of 
Christians, during the days of Eusebius, in the towns 
lying east and north-east of the Dead Sea. On 
Cariathaim (Kerioth, Kurejat; cp. Baedeker, p. 176) 

1 As we may judge from those two characteristic views of doctrine 
put forward in Bostra and “ Arabia,” in opposition to the Alexandrian 
theology. They furnish a strong proof, at any rate, of independence 
and mental activity among the “ Arabian’’ Greeks. We may rank 
them with the peculiar buildings, whose ruins are to be found in 
Bostra, as evidence of a distinctive civilization. 

2 From Optatus (ii. 12) we learn, casually, that there was inter- 
course also between Arabia and North Africa: “Quid Arabia 
provincia, unde probamus venientes a vobis [se. Donatistis] esse 


rebaptizatos ?”’ (“ What of the province of Arabia, emigrants from 
which, we aver, have been re-baptized by you?’’) 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. %01 


the Onomasticon observes,’ ‘ Cairathaim nunc _ es 
vicus Christianis omnibus florens iuxta Madaba” [ep. 
Baedeker, pp. 173 f.], ““urbem Arabiae.” There were 
present at Nicaea bishops from Philadelphia,’ Esbus, 
and Sodom (whose site, so far as I know, has not 
been discovered). From the north there were the 
bishops of Bostra, the most important and _ finely 
situated city of the whole country, and Dionysias. 
The Nicene lists further contain, under Arabia, the 
name of a bishop called Sopater Beretaneus. Where 
this place lay we do not know, for it cannot be 
identified with Bereitan (equivalent to Berothai; 
Baedeker, p. 358), which was situated in Lebanon. 
One tradition, which is not of course entirely trust- 
worthy, makes an Arabian bishop from Zanaatha 
(¢) attend Nicea,? but nothing is known of such a 
place. Finally, we may conclude, although the con- 
clusion is not certain, from Epiph. hl. 30 that there 
were Christians at Gerasa. It is impossible to prove 
that Christians lived in the Nabatean city of Petra 
earlier than Constantine.* 

The efforts made to introduce Christianity among 
the nomad tribes, efforts that were both rare and 

1 «C, is now a village, flourishing and entirely Christian, close 
to the Arabian city of Madaba.” 

2 Epiphanius (Her., lviii., and Epitome) observes that in Bakatha 
| Bakathus] ppntpokwpia Tis “Aaa Blas THs PiradeAdias [or ev BaxdOors 
Tis PiradeApyvyis xdpas répay Tod ‘lopdavov|, the sect of the Valesians 
resided. 

3’ The names of the bishops (Nicomachus, Cyrion, Gennadius, 
Severus, Sopater, another Severus, and Maron) are all Greek or Latin. 

* According to Sozomen (vii. 5) the inhabitants of Petra and 
Areopolis (= Rabba, east of the middle of the Dead Sea) offered a 


vigorous resistance to Christianity even as late as 400 a.p. As for 
Petra, Epiphanius (p. 51, ec. 223; in Oehler, Appendix, t. ii. p. 631), 


nF ge 


< 


te 


304 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


rather fruitless, fall outside our period, and con- 
sequently must be passed over here. Perhaps we 
should recall in this connection, the fact that 
Pantznus travelled from Alexandria to India, 2.e. to 
Southern Arabia, about 180 a.p., and that Jewish 
colonists were living in the latter district (Eus., 
H.E., v. 10. 8). “ He is said to have found there, 
among some of the inhabitants who were acquainted 
with Christ, the gospel of Matthew, which had 
reached that country before him. For Bartholomew 
is said to have preached to these people and to have left 
with them a Hebrew version of Matthew’s gospel, 
which they had kept until the time of which I speak.” 


§ 7. EGypT AND THE THEBAIS, LIBYA AND 
PENTAPOLIS.” 


The most grievous blank in our knowledge of 
early church history is our total ignorance of the 


after describing the festival of the Virgin who had given birth to 

the “ Eon,” proceeds as follows: rotro kai év Ilérpa tH roe (juntpo- 
, > ral > / > “~ > a id NI VA / A 

modus 6€ éote THs “Apaias) ev TO exetoe cidwAtw ottws yiverar Kat 

"ApaBixy Siadéxtw eEvpvodor tiv apGevov, xadotvres abriv “ApaBioti 
~ \ > fal 

Xaaf3od, rovréotwv Képyy youv Mapbévor, kai rov €€ airns yeyevvnpévov 


Aovedpny tovtéctw Movoyevy tod deordrov (“The same thing goes. 


on at the city of Petra, the metropolis of Arabia, in the local 
temple, where they sing hymns in Arabic to the Virgin, calling her 
by the Arabic name of Chaabos, i.e. Maiden or Virgin, and her son 
Dusares, i.e. the only-begotten of the Lord”’). 

1 Cp., e.g., Rufin., ii. 6 (=Socrat., iv. 36; Theodoret, iv: 20), 
Cyrillus Scythopolit., Vita Euthymii (érioxoros tév rapenPodGv), and 
see Duchesne’s Les missions chrétiennes au sud de empire Romain 
(1896), pp. 112 f. 

2 Politically, Pentapolis (Cyrenaica) belonged to Crete; but I 
group it thus, inasmuch as ecclesiastically, to the best of our know- 
ledge, it always tended to gravitate toward Alexandria. 


ryt 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. = 305 


history of Christianity in Alexandria and Egypt up 
till 180 a.p. (the episcopate of Demetrius), when for 
the first time the Alexandrian church appears in the 
daylight of history. It is then a stately church with 
that school of higher learning attached to it by means 
of which its influence was to be diffused and its fame 
borne far and wide. Eusebius found nothing in his 
sources ' bearing on the primitive history of Christi- 
anity at Alexandria; and although we may conjecture, 
with regard to one or two very ancient Christian writ- 
ings (e.g., the epistle of Barnabas, the Didaché, the 
Preaching of Peter, the apostolic canons, etc.), that 
their origin is Egyptian or Alexandrian, this can hardly 
be proved in the case of any one of them with clearness. 

The following points” sum up all our knowledge 
of the Alexandrian or Egyptian church previous to 
Demetrius. (i) There was a local gospel, described 
by Clement of Alexandria and others as “the gospel 
according to the Egyptians” (evayyéoy kat’ Alyurrious), 


1 So that we also know next to nothing of the relations between 
Judaism in Egypt and Alexandria and the development of the church. 
It is purely a conjecture, though perhaps a correct conjecture, that 
more Jews were converted to Christianity in the Nile valley than 
anywhere else. 

2 Reference may be made to Apollos of Alexandria (Acts xviii. 
24), who appears to have joined the Baptist’s followers in Alexandria 
(though this is not certain), and also to the story, told by Justin 
(Apol., I. xxix.), of an Alexandrian Christian who wanted to be 
castrated. We should possess an important account (though one 
which would have to be used with caution) of early Christianity in 
Alexandria, were Hadrian’s epistle to Servian authentic. This is 
controverted, however, and consequently cannot be employed 
except for the third century. The passage in question runs as 
follows (Vita Saturn. 8): “ Aegyptum, quam mihi laudabas, totam 
didici levem pendulam et ad omnia famae momenta volitantem. 
illic qui Serapidem colunt Christiani sunt et devoti sunt Serapidi 

VOL. * I, 20 


306 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


but orthodox Christians had already dropped it from 
use by the end of the second century. The heretical 
asceticism and Modalism which characterize it throw 
a peculiar light upon the idiosyncrasies of early 
Kgyptian Christianity. Originally 1t was not merely 
used by actually heretical parties, who retained it ever 
afterwards, but also by the Egyptian Christians in 
general, as is plain from Clement’s attitude, and still 
more so from its very title. For the latter either 
implies that the book was originally used by the 
Gentile Christians of Egypt as distinguished from 
the local Jewish Christians who read the evayyéAvor 
xa?’ ‘E®patovs in an Aramaic or Greek version,' or else 
it implies a contrast between xar’ Alyurrious and xar’ 
"ArcEavdpear. In this event, the gospel would be 
the book of the provincials in contradistinction to 
the Alexandrians.” (ii) The heretic Basilides laboured 
in Egypt. Of him Epiphanius writes as_ follows 


qui se Christi episcopos dicunt ; nemo illic archisynagogus Judaeorum, 
nemo Samarites, nemo Christianorum presbyter, non mathematicus, 
non haruspex, non aliptes. ipse ille patriarcha cum Aegyptum venerit, 
ab aliis Serapidem adorare, ab aliis cogitur Christum. . . . unus illis 
deus nummus est ; hune Christiani, hune Judaei, hune omnes veneran- 
tur et gentes” (“ The Egypt which you praised to me, I have found 
altogether fickle, flighty, and blown about by every gust of rumour. 
There people who worship Serapis are Christians, while those who 
call themselves bishops of Christ are adherents of Serapis. There 
no chief of a Jewish synagogue, no Samaritan, no Christian presbyter, 
but is an astrologer, a soothsayer, a vile wretch. When the patriarch 
himself visits Egypt, he is foreed by some to worship Serapis, and 
by others to worship Christ. . . . Christians, Jews, and all nations 
worship this one thing—money”’ ; ep. vol. i. pp. 162, 313, 348). 

1 Clement still used both side by side, but he sharply dis- 
tinguishes them from the canonical. 

2 Such is the opinion advocated by Bardenhewer, Gesch. der 
altkirchl. Litt., i. p. 8387, but I do not think it probable. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 307 


(Heer., xxiv. 1): év ty tév Alyurtiov yopa tas dratpiBas 
€TOLELTO, E(TA épxerat" els TH peor TOU [Ipocwrirov Kal ’AOpr- 
Birov, ov uny ada Kat Tepl Tov Daltny Kat ’AreEavd pevav Kal 
’AreEavd pecomoXiryy X@pov TOL VOMOV’ VOMOV yap of Alyur- 
ToL (pace THY EKATTYS TOAEWS TrepLoucioa TOL Teplxwpov (“After 
spending some time in Egypt, he went to the districts 
of Prosopitis and Athribitis, not but that he also 
visited the district or nome of Sais and Alexandria and 
Alexandreiopolis. For the Egyptians give the name 
of ‘nome’ to the environments or suburbs of a city”). 
(iii) Another Egyptian, who probably began his work 
in Egypt, was Valentinus. Epiphanius (xxxi. 2), who 
declares that none of the early heretics mentioned his 
birthplace, writes that only one piece of information, 
and that of doubtful weight, was extant regarding 
this Egyptian: épacay avroy twes yeyernrOa PpeBwvirny 
[dapBabiryy] tis Alyirrov rapadiwrny, ev ’AreEavdpeta de 
reTrawetvc0a tHy Tov ‘EAjvwv mradetav (“Some said he 
was born at Phrebonitis [or Pharbaithis] in Egypt, and 
educated after the Greek fashion in Alexandria”); ep. 
also xxxl. 7: émoujcato O€ oUTOS TO Kn Puy La. Kal eV Atyurre 
b0ev On Kat ws Neirbava éxidvns ooréwy ere ev Alyirrw Te pl- 
NelwreT aL TOUTOU 7 oTopd, év rine TW "AP Biry Kal [pocwrirn Kal 
’Apowvoirn Kal OnBatdy Kal TOs KAT Meperly TNS TapaNias Kau 
Area pevoroXiry (* He also preached in Egypt. And 
one result is that his brood still survives in that country, 
like the remains of a viper’s bones, in Athribitis and 
Prosopitis, and Arsinoitis, and Thebais, and the lower 
regions of the coast, and Alexandreiopolis”).’ (iv) 


1 T do not understand this expression. 

2 Other gnostics can also be shown to have been connected with 
Egypt. But I pass them over here. Apelles, the son of Marcion, 
stayed for a time at Alexandria, as we know. 


308 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


From the Palestinian document of 190 a.p., noticed by 
Eusebius (H.£F., v. 25), we learn that the Palestinian 
church had exchanged letters, for a larger or shorter 
period, with the church of Alexandria in reference 
to the celebration of Easter on the same date.’ (v) 
Kusebius introduces with a ¢daciy (“they say”) the 
statement, which may be referred back to the open- 
ing of the third century, that Mark the disciple of the 
apostles preached the gospel in Egypt and founded 
“churches first of all at Alexandria itself” (excAyoias Te 
TpPOTOY ér aAvUTIS "AnreEavd peias, H.E., ii. 16). We have 
no means of checking this statement. But the ex- 
pression “churches” (so all MSS.) is very singular. 
Alexandria was evidently a sort of province. (vi) An 
Alexandrian list (originally, so far as we know, in 
the Chronicle of Africanus) is extant, which gives 
the bishops of Alexandria from Mark downwards ; 
but unluckily it is quite an artificial production, and 
nothing is to be learned from its contents® (ep. my 
Chronol., i. pp. 124 f., 202 f.). Such is the sum- 
total of our knowledge regarding the history of early 
Christianity in Egypt ! 

Matters become clearer with the entrance of 
Clement of Alexandria and of the _ long-lived 
Demetrius (bishop from 188/189 to 231) upon the 
scene.” But unfortunately the former yields us very 


' According to the extant fragments of an Armenian epistle, 
Irenzeus wrote once to an Alexandrian Christian (Harvey’s opp. 
Tren., ii. 456). 

2 The same passage mentions local work on the part of Barnabas. 

§ According to Eusebius (H.E., vi. 1) Christians “from Egypt 
and all the Thebais were martyred” during the persecution of 
Septimius Severus (202 a.p.). He speaks of ppror, “ thousands” 
(vi. 2. 3), which is an exaggeration. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 309 


little concrete evidence as to the church. We learn 
that the church and its school already played a not 
insignificant réle in Alexandria, that the school was 
frequented by pagans as well as by Christians, that 
presbyters, deacons, and “ widows” were to be found 
in the church, that it counted members from all classes 
and ranks, and that many Christian heretics disquieted 
the Alexandrian church. But this is about all, though 
he does remark (in Hom. vi., 18. 167) that Christi- 
anity had spread “to every nation and village and 
town” (cata eOvos Kat kouny Kat TOAW Tacav), Our sources, 
though not of course entirely reliable, permit us to 
infer, with regard to the position of Demetrius, that 
he was the first monarchical bishop in Alexandria and 
Egypt, the churches hitherto having been governed 
by presbyters and deacons—an arrangement which 
obtained in all the larger localities throughout the 
nomes (not in the main cities) as late as the fourth 
century. The course of affairs seems to have been 
as follows. Alexandria at first and alone had a 
monarchical bishop, wlto ere long came to rank himself 
and to act as the counterpart of “the chief priest of 
Aiexandria and all Egypt.”' This bishop then 
began to consecrate other bishops for the chief towns 
in the various nomes. “ Like the towns, the nomes 
also became the basis of the episcopal dioceses, in 
the Christian epoch” (Mommsen, p. 546; Eng. 
trans., ll. p. 235). According to one _ statement, 
-which is not to be despised, Demetrius only conse- 
crated three such bishops, while Heraclas, his 
successor, created as many as twenty. During the 


1 See Mommsen’s Rom. Geschichte, v. 558 f., 568 (Eng. trans., ii. 
238 f., 249). 


310 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


third century, indeed, all the leading towns in the 
nomes came to have bishops of their own (see below), 
under the fairly autocratic supervision of the metro- 
politan, whose powers were of a specially pronounced 
character in Egypt.t| Towards the close of his life 
Demetrius held synods (against Origen) ; cp. Photius, 
Cod. 118: civodos érickoToy Kai Tuwv mperBuTépwv 
(followed at once by the words, aA’ 6 ye Anuyrpios 
ApL0. TLOW €TITKOTIOLS "Alyurriots) [a synod of bishops and 
certain presbyters . . . . Demetrius too, along with 
certain Egyptian bishops. | 

As Eusebius (H.£., vi. i.) informs us that by 202 
A.D. Christians were dragged to Alexandria ‘“ from 
Egypt and all the Thebais” (az Atyirrou cat OcBaidos 
awaons), there must have been Christians in all parts 
of the country. 

From the writings and history of Origen, a man 
to whom, far more than to Clement, the whole 
Eastern church was indebted for its fusion with 
intellectual culture, ample information (see above, 
pp. 158 f.) can be gained regarding the external and 
internal expansion of Christianity even beyond the 


1 Into the origins and development of the organization in 
Alexandria and Egypt we cannot now enter at any greater length. 
I do not know what to make of the statement in Epiph., Her., 
Ixviii. 7, that Alexandria, unlike other cities, never had two bishops. 
With regard to the metropolitan powers of the bishop of Alexandria, 
one gets the impression that they were as despotic as those of the 
emperor in the sphere of politics. Cp., e.g., Epiph., Har., Ixviii. 1: 
Totro eOos éari, Tov ev TH AXeeavopeta apyierioxorov macs Te Aiyvrrou 
kat OnBaidos, Mapestov re kat ArBins, Appoviaxis, Mapedridds te Kat 
TlevrardXews éxew tiv exkAnovactixyy Svoiknow (“The custom is for 
the archbishop of all Egypt, the Thebais, Mareotis and Libya, 
Ammoniace, Mareotis and Pentapolis, to have his ecclesiastical 
headquarters at Alexandria”’). : 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO°325 A.D. 311 


confines of Alexandria and Egypt. No doubt, as 
he concedes to Celsus that the number of Christians 
was still “extremely scanty,” relatively to the 
Roman empire, we cannot form any extravagant 
estimates of their number in Origen’s native land 
down to the year 240 (cp. also his statement that 
Christian martyrs were rare and easily counted) ; 
but, on the other hand, as he finds the steady 
extension of Christendom (even in the upper circles 
of society) to be so marked that he can already 
contemplate its triumph, it follows that the number 
of Christians must have been quite considerable.’ 

The number of nomes or cities in which we can 
prove that there were Christians previous to Meletius, 
to the Nicene council, and to the accounts furnished 
by Athanasius, is extremely small, although the 


1 Accurate statistics of the inhabitants of Alexandria were drawn 
up in connection with the relief of the poor, as is proved by the 
remarks of Dionysius Alex, (in Eus., H.E., vii. 21) upon the great 
plague of 260 a.p. “Yet people are astonished . . . . at our great 
city no longer containing such a multitude of inhabitants—even if 
one now includes little children and very old people in the census 
—as formerly it could number of those who were merely in the 
prime of life, so-called. In those days people between forty and 
seventy constituted so large a majority of the inhabitants that their 
number cannot be made up nowadays even by the inclusion of 
people between fourteen and eighty in the list compiled for the 
purposes of public charity—those who, to appearance, are quite 
young, being now, as it were, coeval with those who formerly were 
full of years [so that the dispensing of food was extended to such 
persons]. Yet, although they see how the human race continues 
to diminish and waste away, they tremble not at the destruction 
of mankind which is ever advancing upon themselves.’”” We must 
accordingly assume that a very serious diminution took place in 
the population of Alexandria about the middle of the third 
century. 


312 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


fault lies solely with our sources of information. 
They are as follows :— 

The districts of Prosopitis, Athribitis, Saitis 
[Pharbeethis], and Arsinoé (see above). On the 
last-named, cp. Dionys. Alex. in Eus., H.#., vii. 
24, where we are told that the chiliastic movement 
was particularly popular in that district. Its bishop 
was probably Nepos, whose bishopric (oc. cit.) is not 
named, and Dionysius also mentions “ presbyters and 
teachers” of the brethren in the villages of the 
Arsinoé nome. Christianity had thus penetrated 
into the low country. 

The Thebais (see above). 

Antinoé: where, about 200 a.p., there was a 
Christian community (cp. Alex. Jerus. in Eus., 
ILE, oye 14), 

Thmuis: from the ‘‘ Historia Origenis” in Photius 
(cp. my Litt. Gesch., i. p. 332), it follows that when 
Origen was exiled afresh by Heraclas from Alex- 
andria, there was a bishop (Ammonius) in Thmuis, 
whom Heraclas deposed. He was succeeded by 
Philip.’ Cp. also Eus., H.£., viii. 9. 

Philadelphia in Arsinoé: from the libellus libel- 
latici published by Wessely (Anzerger der phil.-hist. 
Klasse der Wiener Akad., 1894, Jan. 3), it follows 
that there were Christians here in the reign of Decius. 

Alex.-Island, a village on an island of the Fajjum 
lake (libellus libellatici, published by Krebs in the 
Sitzungsber. d. Pr. Akad. d. Wiss., 1893, Nov. 80). 

Hermopolis [parva or magna]: Dionys. Alex. wrote 
to Conon, the bishop of the local church (Eus., 
vi. 46), 


1 There was an estate of Rostoces at Thmuis (Martyr. Hieron.). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 313 


Nilus [Nilopolis]}: Charemon, the local bishop, 
is mentioned by Dionys. Alex. in Eus., HE, 
Vi. 42." 

Ptolemais in Pentapolis: Christians lived here, 
according to Dionysius (in Eus., vii. 6). 

Berenicé in Cyrenaica: a local bishop, called 
Ammon (Dionysius, zbzd., vil. 26). 

According to Eusebius (H.£., vii. 13), Gallienus 
wrote to Dionysius, Pinnas, Demetrius, and the rest 
of the [Egyptian] bishops. Where the sees of the 
two latter are to be looked for, we do not know; but 
it is natural to suppose (cp. the sixth canon of 
Nicwa) that they were the metropolitans of Libya 
and Pentapolis, who were subject to the chief metro- 
politan of Alexandria. 

Oxyrhynchus: History of Peter of Alexandria ; ep. 
K. Schmidt in the Texte u. Unters., N.F. v. 4, and 
Achelis, Martyr., pp. 173 f., the latter of whom 
infers, from the genuine Passio employed in the 
“ Martyr. Hieros.,” that the Christians in Oxyrhyn- 
chus during the great persecution were still extremely 


1 According to Dionys. Alex. (Eus., vi. 40) there seem to have 
been Christians at Taposiris near Alexandria as well. In the village 
of Cephro, “near the desert” (ra pépy tis ArBvns), the exiled 
Dionysius first spread abroad the word of God successfully, accord- 
ing to his own account. In the Mareotic district, where the village 
of Colluthion (the fresh place of exile appointed for him) was 
situated, there were no Christians, or practically none, about the 
middle of the third century, although the district lay close to 
Alexandria (cp. Dionys. in Eus., H.E., vii. 11). There, too, it was 
he who planted Christianity. Mareotis (for Mareotic Christians, 
see Dionys., Eus., H.E., vii. 11) is mentioned in a writing of the 
Jerusalem Synod (Athanas., Apol. c. Arian, 85): “ Mareotis is a 
district of Egypt. There never was a bishop there, nor a territorial 
bishop ; the churches over the whole district were under the bishop 


314 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


few. Only seventeen are said to have been resident 
there. But from the letter of Peter, published by 
Schmidt, one gets a different idea of the situation 
(the town having a bishop, and the presbyters being 
partly drawn from the better class of the citizens), 
and this is confirmed by the Passio in question. 
According to the prelude of the festal epistles of 
Athanasius (ed. Larsow, p. 26) there were Christians 
in the small and the large oasis by 329 a.p. We 
now know, as of course one might conjecture a priorz 
(since the oases served as places of exile), that as early 
as the days of the persecutions, in Diocletian’s reign 
or even before then, Christians and Christian pres- 
byters were to be found at Kysis in the southern part 
of the great oasis, and possibly also in other quarters 
of the same district." Perhaps there were Christians 
also in Syene (Deissmann, p. 18). And a very large 
number languished in the dye-factories of the Thebais 
during the persecution of Maximinus Daza (Eus., 
H.E., viii. 9; Mart. Pal., viii. 1, ix. 1), while crowds 
of others were taken from Egypt to the mines in 


of Alexandria. The separate presbyters had charge of the larger 
villages, to about the number of ten and upwards”’; cp. Socrates, 
i. 27: Mapewrys xwpa rhs “AAc~avpeias eat’: cdma O€ eiow ev aith 
mwodAat opddpa kai roAvdvOpwro, Kal ev aitots éxxAnoiat woAXAal Kat 
Aapmpal. TarTovTar d€ ad ai éxkAnoia i7d TO THS “AdekavOpeias émio- 
KOTW Kal Elo b7O THY adTHV TOAW ws maporkiar (“ M. is a district of 
Alexandria, It contains a very large number of populous villages, 
in which there are many splendid churches. These churches are 
under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Alexandria, and are subject 
to his city as parishes”). On the Christians in Mareotis, see also 
Athanas., op. cit., lxxiv., and Epiph., Her., lxviii. 7 (a number of 
local churches as early as 300 a.p.). 

1 Deissmann, Ein Originaldokument aus der dioklet. Verfolgung 
(1902), pp. 12 f. [Eng. trans. ]. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 315 


Palestine and Cilicia (Mart. Pal., viii. 18: 130 
Egyptian martyrs). 

According to one papyrus (Amherst), dating from 
the days of Maximus, the bishop of Alexandria (264/ 
265--281/282), there was a bishop called Apollonius 
then resident in the district of Arsinoé; cp. Harnack 
in Sttzungsber. d. k. Pr. Akad. d. Wiss., 1890, 
Nov. 15. 

The “Mart. Hieros.” (cp. Achelis, Martyrol., p. 
143) mentions a martyrdom “in Algypto in Ana- 
cipoli” (?). 

The fragments of the correspondence of Dionys. 
Alex., and the record of the persecutions, give 
one the impression that the number of Christians 
in Alexandria was large, and that the spread of 
Christianity throughout the country, in town and 
villages alike (Eus., vi. 42. 1), was considerable. 
Quite incidentally, for example, we find (in Eus., 
ALE., vii. 11. 17) that “special gatherings” were 
regularly held “in the more remote suburbs” of 
Alexandria (ev TpoarTetols Toppwre pw KELMEVOLS KaTU MLE POS 
ovvaywyal), Kgypt (Lower Egypt), after the middle 
of the third century, certainly belonged to those 
territories in which Christians were particularly 


plentiful,’ although Dionysius (Eus., H.E., vii. 7) 


1 By the time of the Decian persecution, Christians were already 
occupying public positions in Alexandria, and many were to be 
found among the rich (Eus., vi. 41, vii. 11). Libelli, or certificates 
of exemption granted to apostates, survive from towns of no great 
size ; but this proves at most the large number of local Christians. 
Dionysius, in his account of the Alexandrian victims in the perse- 
cution (Eus., H.E., vi. 41), distinguishes between Greeks and 
Egyptians, but Christians were to be found among both classes of 
the population. 


316 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


was aware that there were provinces in Asia Minor 
where the churches were still more numerous." 

As regards the Egyptian episcopal hierarchy at the 
opening of the fourth century, we find ourselves in 
a particularly fortunate position. The episcopal lists 
certainly give an extremely imperfect idea of the 
spread of Christianity in Egypt, as each nome had 
only one bishop, while many large churches, in town 
and country alike, were governed by presbyters, and 
small villages had not even so much as a presbyter. 
But, on the other hand, we have to take account (i) 
of the statement made by Athanasius in 303 4.D., 
that “there are close upon 100 bishops in Egypt, 
the Thebais, Libya, and Pentapolis.” See <Apol. c. 
Arian., 1 and 71, in the first of which passages he 
roundly asserts, while in the second he records, how 
close upon 100 bishops from these quarters agreed to 
the resolution of the Alexandrian synod. They were 
not all present at the synod, but Athanasius was at 
pains to have the resolutions in his own favour signed 
even by those who had been absent.. Now if there 
were nearly 100 bishops in these four districts in 339 
A.D., their number must have been probably some- 
what, though not much, less in 325 A.D. During the 
last thirty years of the third century, the organization 
and consolidation of the Egyptian church, like that of 
so many other churches, was substantially completed. 

1 Practically no information upon ecclesiastical geography is 
furnished by the history of Egyptian monasticism previous to 
325 a.p. The monastic settlement of Pachomius in Tabennisi (not 
Tabenne Nesus: cp. v. Schubert’s Lehrb. d. k. Gesch., i. pp. 405 f.), 
however, is to be fixed within that period; and we are also told 


how Pachomius was converted at Chenoboscium on the Nile in the 
Thebais district. Its site cannot be identified. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 317 


(ii) There is also the fragmentary record, compiled 
by Meletius, of his adherents among the Egyptian 
hierarchy, and laid by him before the council of 
Nicva (325). This list includes twenty-nine bishops 
fep.-Athan:, op. cit., 71); viz., m 

Lycopolis, 

Antinoé (cp. also Palladius, Hest. Laus., 7), 

Hermopolis (whither Joseph and the child Jesus 
are said to have fled; cp. Hist. Laus., 8), 

Cusz (= Cos), 

Diospolis, 

Tentyrae (upper Thebais, in the department of 
Ptolemais),’ 

Coptus (EK. of the Nile, in the department of 
Maximianopolis), 

Hermethes (?) in the Thebais, 

Cynos super. (Cynopolis ?), 

Oxyrhynchus (in the days of Rufinus, it had twelve 
churches; ‘“nullus ibi invenitur haereticus aut 
paganus, sed omnes cives Christiani ”’).” 

Heracleopolis, 

Nilopolis, 

Letopolis, 

Niciopolis, 


1 It is remarkable that no bishopric within our period is ever 
assigned to Ptolemais, though it was the second city in Egypt. 
This omission cannot be a mere accident. The city must have 
sharply excluded Christianity. 

2 “No heretic or pagan is to be found there: all the citizens 
are Christians.’”” The continued existence of pagan conventicles at 
Oxyrhynchus, assumed by Wilcken (Archiv f. Papyrusforschung, 
i. 3, pp. 407 f.), rests, in my opinion, upon a misinterpretation of 
mayavikal ovvréAear, an expression which occurs in a document of 
426 a.D. 


318 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Cleopatris, 

Arsinoites, 

Leontopolis in the department of Heliopolis (ep. 
the history of Heraclas, who lived here, in Epiph., 
Her: \xvii.), 

Athribis, 

Bubastus in Pharbethus, 

Phakusa, 

Pelusium, 

Tanis, 

Thmuis, 

Cynos infer. and Busiris (in the nome of Sais), 

Sebennytus, 

Phthenegys, 

Metelis, 

Memphis ; 

Also a bishop called Agathammon (at Hermopolis 
parva) “in the district of Alexandria,”’ besides a 
priest from Parembolé. 

(ii) ‘Thirdly, we have the list of bishops from 
Egypt, the Thebais and both Libyas, who were 
present at Nica. These came from 

Alexandria, 

Alphokranon, 

Cynopolis, 

Pharbeetus, 

Panephysis, 

Heracleopolis magna, 

Heracleopolis parva (St Antony came from a small 


1 In the notices of martyrdom during the great persecution, as 
well as in Eusebius (Dionys. Alex.), some further Egyptian episcopal 
names are preserved, but the localities are unknown; cp., e.g., the 
names in Eus., H.E., viii. 13. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. 319 


village called Coma, near this city; as his parents 
were Christian, there must have been Christians in 
Coma about 270 a.D.). 

Ptolemais, 

Pelusium, 

Thmuis, 

Memphis,’ 

Nomos Thautites, 

Schedia, | 

Antinoé, (Thebais), 

Lycopolis, 

Ptolemais, 

Berenicé, 

Barcé, 

Antipyrgos, + (Libya super. and infer.). 

Tauche, 

Paretonium, 

Marmarika,’ 

Down to 325 a.b., therefore, we can assume 
Christians to have existed in about fifty towns (or 
nomes) of these provinces, more than forty of which 


1 The heretic Marcus also came from Memphis. He went to 
Spain, where he gained a prominent lady named Agape and 
Helpidius, an orator, who succeeded for their part in winning over 
Priscillian (ep. Sulp. Sev., Chronic., ii, 46). 

2 Paphnutius, bishop of an unknown town in Upper Thebais, was 
also at Niceea.—Very likely there were Christians, and a Christian 
bishop also, at Darnis (Dardanis) before 325 a.p., as it was the 
metropolitan’s headquarters for Libya II. during the days of 
Athanasius.—Immediately after 325 we get evidence for Christian 
churches (cp. Athan., Apol. Ixiv.) at the following Egyptian localities, 
viz., Dikella, Phasko, Chenebri, Myrsiné, Bomotheus, and Taposiris 
(see above). Hypselis, where Arsenius, the opponent of Athanasius, 
was a bishop, may be added to the places which possessed a church 
previous to 325, 


320 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


were episcopal sees. In Alexandria there was quite 
a number of churches, and we have actual know- 
ledge of those in which Arius preached, besides 
those of Pierius, called after the famous head of the 
local school (ep. my Litt.-Gesch., 1., p. 439), and 
several others.’ ‘The Novatians also had _ several 
churches in Alexandria, which Cyril had ultimately 
closed (Socrat., vii. 7). The stories of bishops 
Peter and Alexander of Alexandria, together with 
the correspondence of the latter, show how com- 
manding a position in the church was enjoyed by 
the Alexandrian bishop, and thereby throw light 
upon the strength of the Christian community in 
that city.—A further proof of the wide spread of 
Christianity in Egypt is furnished by the fact that 
it continued to be a power in Upper Egypt at the 
opening of the fourth century (compare the descrip- 
tion of the Diocletian persecution which raged so 
fiercely in the Thebais itself), and also by the 
outburst and propaganda of monasticism durmg the 
last thirty years of the third century. In Alexandria, 
more than in any other city and province, the church 


1 Epiph., Her., lxix. 2: eiot rdé«ious tov apibmov ev TH “AdeEavdpeta 
> 7 / / > , \ ig la) a \. Ge 
éxxAnoiat . . . . Atovyoiov Kadovpevn exxAnoia, Kat 7 TOD Oewva Kat H 
IItepiov Kat Separiwvos cal 7) THs Uepacias cat 7 Tov Argb Kal H Tod 
Mevdidiov Kai 7) “Avviavod Kal 7 THs BavkdAews Kai adAa: ev pud de 
tovtwv KodddAovbos tis irippyxev, ev érépa dé Kapmavys, ev ddd de Zap- 
paras kal Apeios otros, x.7.A. (“ The churches in Alexandria are more 
numerous. There are the churches of Dionysius, of Theonas, of 
Pierius and Serapion, of Persaia, of Dizus, of Mendidius, of Annianus, 
of Baucalis, etc.; in one there was a certain Colluthus, in another 
Carpones, in another Sarmatas and Arius, ete.’’), Incidentally we 
learn that Arius secured seven hundred consecrated virgins, seven 
presbyters and twelve deacons in Alexandria (zbzd., iii.), which also 
serves to show the size of the church, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. 321 


understood how to set forth Christianity in forms 
suited to the varied grades of human culture, and 
this feature undoubtedly proved an _ extraordinary 
aid to the propaganda of the religion, although at a 
subsequent period, of course, the multitude of un- 
educated Christians overmastered alike the educated 
members of the church and the bishop of Alexandria 
himself. The first Christian who, to our knowledge, 
published his biblical studies in the Egyptian (Coptic) 
language as well, was the ascetic Hieracas (Epiph., 
Heer., \xvii.), an older contemporary of Arius, who 
was suspected as a semi-heretic. Somewhere about 
the same time, 7.e. in the second half of the third 
century, the Coptic versions of the Bible may have 
begun to appear (cp. Nestle, pp. 84 f., as cited on 
p. 294), of which the Upper Egyptian appears to be 
the oldest—a fact which is quite intelligible, as Greek 
was not so widely diffused in this quarter as elsewhere. 
There were quite a number of them (three at the 
least) in the various Coptic dialects, showing how 
deeply and how strongly Christianity had operated 
in Egypt. Unfortunately we cannot even here look 
for any aid from statistics. For who can tell how 
many of this population of millions were Christians 
(cp. Mommsen, p. 578; Eng. trans., 1. 259 f.), when 
the great persecution broke out? Certain it is, 
however, that the Christians had long ago outstripped 
the Jews numerically, and by the opening of the 
fourth century they were over a million strong. 
Their large numbers are also evident from the fact 
that during the fourth century there was a com- 
paratively rapid decline of paganism, native and 
Hellenic, throughout Egypt—apart, that is, from 


VOL, IL. 2) 


322 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


the cults at Phile and other outstanding temple- 
cities (ep. Wilcken, Archiv fiir Papyrusforschung, 
i. 8, pp. 396 f., who shows, however, that there were 
Christian churches even in Phile by the beginning 
of the fifth century). The outlying district of Bucolia, 
no doubt, is reported (Jerome, Vita Hilarion., xliii.) 
to have been still entirely pagan in the fourth century, 
while almost the whole of the city of Antinoé was 
still given up to idolatry in the reign of Valens. 
These, however, were the exceptions. And that 
was why inconvenient clerics were banished thither 
by the emperor (Theodoret, H.H., iv. 15). Other 
exiled clerics are said, about the same period, to have 
found nothing but pagans and an idolatrous temple 
on an island of the Nile (Socrat., iv. 24). But what- 
ever value one might attach to this story, it ceases 
to be of any importance when one considers the 
question put by the pagans to the Christians when 
they landed, “Have you come hither also to drive 
us out?” (Gere Kat evTav0a efeaca yuas). On the 
contrary, it thus becomes a witness to the spread of 
Christianity. Judaism and Hellenism had _ plainly 
paved an open way for Christianity in Egypt, and 
the national religion, with all its peculiarities, which 
had long ago become quite meaningless,’ did not 
possess the same powers of attraction and resistance 
as certain of the Syro-Phoenician cults evinced. 

1 It is extremely notable how little mention of the Egyptian 
religion is to be found in early Christian literature. Even Christian 
gnosticism, so materially influenced by the lore of Syrian and 
Asiatic rites, hardly betrays a trace of the Egyptian cultus (yet ep. 
the Pistis Sophia). The latter must have been disintegrated during 


the second and third centuries, yielding place to Hellenism, and 
in part to rude household cults. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 323 


We know nothing about the early history of 
Christianity in Pentapolis (Cyrenaica), where a very 
large number of local Jews had already created an 
atmosphere for the new faith... But the fact of 
Basilides being metropolitan of Pentapolis in the 
days of Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionys., ep. ad 
Basil.; Kus., H.E., vii. 20; Routh’s Relig. Sac., 
i. pp. 223 f.), shows that church life had been 
organized there, with a number of bishoprics (e.g. 
Berenicé, p. 313), by the middle of the third cen- 
tury. The modalistic Christology gained a specially 
large number of convinced adherents in this dis- 
trict about the same time, and Sabellius came from 
Pentapolis. 

Not until the fourth century did Christianity 
penetrate the wide stretches of country south of 
Phile and towards Abyssinia; cp. Duchesne’s Les 
missions chrétiennes au sud de lempire Romain 
(1896). All tales relating to an earlier period are 
legendary.” 


1 Trenzus (i. 10) declares that there were Christians in Libya. 
There is some likelihood that Tertullian’s story about the proconsul 
Pudens (in ad Scapulam iv.) was rehearsed even in Cyrenaica previous 
to 166 a.p., which would prove the existence of Christians there at 
that period. But the transference is not quite assured. Crete also 
might be meant; cp. Neumann’s Rém. Staat. u. allgem. Kirche, i. 
pp. 33 f. 

* Which does not exclude the possibility of Christianity having 
been preached ere this to certain “Ethiopians” on the borders, 
Origen seems to know of such cases having occurred. He writes: 
“Non fertur praedicatum esse evangelium apud omnes Aethiopas, 
maxime apud eos, qui sunt ultra fumen” (“The gospel is not said 
to have been preached to all the Ethiopians, especially to such as 
live beyond the River” ; 7 Matth, comment, ser, 39, t. iv. pp. 269 f., 
ed. Lommatzsch). 


324 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


§ 8. Crnictra. 


Ever since Antioch had come to be a place of 
increasing importance, it had exercised a strong and 
steady influence over Cilicia, the whole province 
gravitating more and more to Hellenic Syria.’ This 
feature comes out in its church history as well as 
elsewhere. Luke ranks Syria and Cilicia together as 
missionary spheres ; Christian communities arose there 
contemporaneously with the earliest communities 
in Syria; Paul, a son of Tarsus,’ laboured in his 
native land; and the Cilician churches, together 
with those of Antioch and Syria, took part in the 
great Gentile Christian controversy (Acts xv. 28, 
epistle from Jerusalem to the Gentile Christians in 
Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia; xv. 41, churches in Syria 
and Cilicia; Paul himself groups together ta «Ajuara 
T. Lupias c. Keccxias,, Gal. 1. 21. Ignatius, cp. ad Philad. 
xi., was accompanied on his transportation by a deacon 
named Philo from Cilicia). At a later period, too, 
Cilician bishoprics were frequently filled up from 
Antioch. 

Our information regarding the history of the 
Cilician church down to the council of Nicza is 
altogether slender. In the chronicle of Dionysius 
of Telmahar (ed. Siegfried and Gelzer, p. 67), a 
bishop of Alexandria parva [Alexandrette] is men- 
tioned about the year 200. Dionysius of Alexandria 
once or twice mentions Helenus, bishop of Tarsus, 


1 Under Domitian or Trajan even the Kowdv KiAdrxias, or Diet 
of Cilicia, met in Antioch. 

2 There was a large number of Jews in Cilicia, and especially 
in Tarsus (cp. Acts vi. 9, and Epiph., Her. xxx.). 


CHRISTIANIFY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 325 


and from the mode of reference we may gather that 
he was metropolitan of Cilicia. This province must 
therefore have comprised a considerable number of 
bishoprics at that period (cep. Eus., HWE., vi. 46, vii. 
5: ‘“Helenus, bishop of Tarsus in Cilicia, and the 
other- bishops of that district,” “Helenus of Tarsus 
and all the churches of Cilicia”). Tarsus, distinguished 
as it was for a flourishing school of learning, was at 
the same time the political capital of the province. 
Lupus of Tarsus, Amphion of Epiphania, and the 
bishop of Neronias, all took part in the synod of 
Ancyra (c. 314 A.pD.); see also the synod of Neo- 
Cesarea, which immediately followed it. Many 
foreign Christians were deported to the mines in 
Cilicia (Mart. Pal., x. 1, xi. 6), and the presence 
of Christians in Pompeiopolis is implied in the 
martyrdom of Tarachus and his fellows (Ruinart, 
pp. 451 f.). The epistle of Alexander of Alexandria 
vouches for a bishopric at Anazarbus; and for a 
nameless episcopal seat in Cilicia, at the opening of 
the fourth century, see Epiph., Har., xxx. 11. 

No fewer than nine Cilician bishops attended the 
Nicene council, as well as one chor-episcopus ; viz., the - 
bishops of ‘Tarsus, E/piphania,' Neronias, Castabala,? 
Flavias,’ Adana, Mopsuestia, Agee,’ and Alexandria 


1 According to Amm, Marcell. (xxii. 11. 3) Georgius, the bishop 
who opposed Athanasius, was born here. 

2 Cp. the unauthentic Ignatian epistles. 

3 Alexander, subsequently bishop of Jerusalem (in the first 
half of the third century), is said by some authorities to have been 
bishop of Flavias at an earlier period. But this can hardly be correct. 

* Cp. the destruction. of the local temple to Aesculapius by 
Constantine ; also the Acta Claudit et Asteriti (Ruinart’s Acta Mart, 
Ratisbon, 1859, pp. 309 f.). 


326 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


parva.' Their numbers, and the fact of the chor- 
episcopate having already developed within Cilicia, 
would indicate that a considerable level had been 
reached in the Christianizing of this province. 


§ 9. Asta Minor (excluding Criicta). 


Cappapocta, ARMENIA, Diospontus, PAPHLAGONIA 
AND Pontus PoLEMoNIACcUS, BITHYNIA, ASIA, 
Lyp1a, Mysra, Caria, Puryeia, GALATIA, 
Pisipia, Lycaonra, lLycta, PAMPHYLIA, 
ISAURIA.” 


Asia Minor, and indeed the majority of the above- 
named provinces, constituted the Christian country 
ar’ é£oxqv during the pre-Constantine era. This is a 
fact which is to be asserted with all confidence, nor 
are the grounds of it inaccessible, although different 
considerations obtain with regard to the various sec- 
tions of Asia Minor as a whole. Here Hellenism had 
assumed a form which rendered it peculiarly suscept- 
ible to Christianity. Here again were other provinces 
which were barely touched by it, possessing but an im- 
perfect civilization, and therefore forming virgin soil.* 


1 The register doubles Narcissus of Neronias and Narcissus of 
Irenopolis, but the two towns are identical. 

2 Cp. Mommsen’s Rim. Gesch., v. pp. 295 f. (Eng. trans., i. pp. 
320 f.), and the copious instructive article on “ Asia Minor” by 
Joh. Weiss in the Prot. Real.-Encykl., vol. x. 

3 One must also notice at how late a period the whole eastern 
section of the province became really Romanized. Avowedly by 
100 x.c., but actually not for two centuries later, did the Romans 
win practical and entire possession of Cilicia. Cappadocia was 
not secured till the reign of Tiberius; Western Pontus was added 
under Nero, Commagene and Armenia Minor under Vespasian, etc. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 827 


Here, in many provinces, one could find a numerous 
body of Jews, who, though personally hostile to 
Christianity, had nevertheless made preparations for 
it in many a heart and head. Here singular 
mixtures of Judaism and paganism were to be met 
with, in the realm of ideas (cp. the worship of Ge0s 
iiictos) as well as in mythology; the population 
were open for a new syncretism. Here there were 
no powerful and unifying national religions to offer 
such a fanatical resistance to Christianity as in the 
case of the Syro-Pheenician religion, although there 
was no lack of strong local sanctuaries, besides several 
attractive cults throughout the country. The religious 
life of the land was cleft by as serious a fissure as 
the provincial and national—which must have been 
felt to be an anachronism in the new order of things, 
above all, in that new order introduced by Augustus. 
Here the imperial cultus established itself, therefore, 
with pre-eminent success. But while the imperial 
cultus was an anticipation of universalism in religion, 
it was a totally unworthy expression of that universal- 
ism, nor could it satisfy the religious natures of the age. 
Culture and manners diffused widely throughout these 
provinces, where, in the West, trade, manufactures, 
and commerce flourished. But so far as there was 
any culture—and in the West it was extremely high 
—it was invariably Hellenic. Here, more than in 
any other country, did Christianity amalgamate with 
Hellenism, with the result that an actual transition 
and interfusion took place, which, contrary to the 
development at Alexandria, affected, not merely 
religious philosophy, but all departments of human 
existence. This is brought out by the Christian 


328 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


theology, the cultus, the mythology, and the local 
legends of the saints. And the evidence for it is 
furnished in the fourth, and in fact at the end of the 
third century, by the way in which paganism was 
overcome. Here paganism was absorbed. ‘There 
were no fierce struggles. Paganism simply dis- 
appeared, to emerge again, in proportion to the 
measure of its disappearance, in the Christian church. 
Nowhere else did the conquest and “extirpation” 
of paganism occasion so little trouble. The fact 1s, 
it was not extirpation at all. It was transformation. 
Asia Minor, in the fourth century, was the first 
purely Christian country, apart from some outlying 
districts and one or two prominent sanctuaries. The 
Greek church of to-day is the church of Con- 
stantinople and Asia Minor, or rather of Asia Minor. 
Constantinople itself derived its power from Asia 
Minor in the first instance, and from Antioch only 
in the second. The apostle Paul was drawn to Asia 
Minor. Ephesus became the second fulcrum of 
Christianity, after Antioch. That great unknown 
figure, John, resided here, and here it was that the 
deepest things which could be said of Jesus were 
composed. The daughters of Philip came to Phrygia. 
All the great developments of the Christian religion 
during the second century originated in Asia, and it 
was in Asia that all the great controversies were 
mainly fought out—the conflict between the itinerant 
and the local organizations, the gnostic struggle, 
the Christological controversy (Praxeas, Theodotus, 
and Epigonus all came from Asia), the Montanist 
controversy, which here and here alone assumed 
a popular form, etc. Here, too, the synodal and 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 329 


metropolitan consolidation of the church was in- 
itiated.* 

Even before Trajan’s reign we come across 
Christian communities at Perge (Pamphylia), Pisidian 
Antioch, Iconium, Derbe, and Lystra (Acts xiil.. xiv.), 
as well as at unnamed localities in Galatia, Cappa- 
docia, and Bithynia, at Ephesus, Colossa, Laodicea, 
Phrygian Hierapolis (Paul's epistles), Smyrna, 
Pergamum, Sardis, Philadelphia, Thyatira (<Apoc. 
John), and Troas (Acts, Paul, and lgnat., ad Phil. x1.). 
The churches at Magnesia on the Meander and at 
Tralles are also earlier than Trajan’s reign, undoubt- 
edly (see Ignatius). Nor do these names exhaust the 
number of towns where Christian communities were to 
be found at that period.” The vigour and the variety 


1 Plainly this organization had not yet become naturalized in 
Northern Africa, or only in the local Montanist church, when 
Tertullian wrote (in de jejunio xiii.): “Aguntur praeterea per 
Graecias [under which we must include Asia] illa certis in locis 
concilia ex universis ecclesiis, per quae et altiora quaeque in 
commune tractantur, et ipsa representatio totius nominis Christiani 
magna veneratione celebratur” (“ Besides, in definite localities 
throughout Greece there are held those councils of all the churches, 
by means of which deeper questions are treated for the church’s 
common good, and the entire name of Christ is represented and 
celebrated with entire reverence’’). In Asia the synods were 
framed on the pattern of the local diets. Their significance for 
the growth and strength of the Christian cause is brought out by 
the Licinian legislation, which prohibited them (Vita Constant., i. 
51: pydapA pndapds GdAHAots Exikowwvetv TOds ExLTKOTOUS [Nd erLONfLEtv 
avtov éeival tie TH TOD TéAas exKAnoia, pydé ye TvVddovs pydé Bovdas 
Kal duackdes Tept Tov AvotTEA OV Troreic bai = “ Bishops were never to 
hold the slightest intercourse with one another, nor were they per- 
mitted to be absent on a visit to some neighbouring church, nor were 
synods, councils, or conferences on economic questions to be held’’). 

2 For the Apocalypse of John never mentions Tralles, Magnesia, 
or Colossee. Consequently, it must have also omitted other cities, 


330 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITS® 


of the forms already assumed by Christianity in these 
quarters are shown by the seven epistles to the 
churches in the Johannine Apocalypse, by the whole 
tenor of the book, and by the Ignatian writings. 
The epistle to Laodicea (Apoc. ii. 17) sets before us 
a church which had already compromised with the 
world, and which felt itself to be rich and satisfied. 
Ignatius mentions the populous character of the 
church at Ephesus (zodurA76ia, EHphes., i. 3), while 
the author of the Apocalypse depicts an 6xAos zodvs, 
ov apO roa ovdes édvvato (Vil. 9) standing before the 
throne of the Lamb. A generation earlier, Paul had 
written an epistle (the so-called ‘“ Kphesians”) to 
Asia, whose conception of history implies the glorious 
experience of Christ’s power to unify mankind, and 
that peace among men which the Saviour came to 
bring. Christ, not Augustus, is our peace. He it is 
who made out of twain one, and hath broken down 
the wall of partition. Thus the language of imperial 
adoration is applied here to the Redeemer 
(Ephes. ii. 14). 

This sketch may be rounded off by a piece of non- 
Christian evidence which, however familiar, cannot be 
valued too highly. It refers to Bithynia and Pontus, 
two provinces of Asia Minor, where (as the opening 
words of 1 Peter already inform us) Christians were to 
be found at an early period,’ though no further details 
even although these had churches of their own. Ignatius, too, 
merely gives a selection of names. Both he (Trail. xii., Polyc. 
viii.) and the address of 1 Peter point to the existence of other 
churches still in Asia. 

1 This epistle indicates unquestionably that Christianity had 


spread to some extent throughout these provinces. The counsels 
of the author definitely presuppose a certain relationship between 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 331 


can be gathered on this point from the New Testament 
itself.' Pliny’s account of them, however (for it is 
Pliny to whom I have alluded) certainly relates to 
Asia and Phrygia alike. He informs the emperor 
Trajan (ep. xcvi., c. 111/113 a.p.) that persons of 
all ages and ranks (even including Roman citizens) 
are implicated in the proceedings taken against 
the Christians, while several apostates had explained 
they had been Christians for many years, but were no 
longer so. One of them affirmed that he had been 
converted over twenty years ago. Pliny then goes 
on to say: “ Dilata cognitione ad consulendum te 
decucurri. Visa est enim mihi res digna consultatione, 
maxime propter periclitantium numerum. Multi 
enim omnis aetatis, omnis ordinis, utriusque sexus 
etiam, vocantur in periculum et vocabuntur. Neque 
civitates tantum sed vicos etiam atque agros supersti- 
tionis isttus contagio pervagata est ; quae videtur sisti 
et corrigi posse. Certe satis constat prope tam deso- 
lata templa coepisse celebrari et sacra sollemnia diu 
mtermissa repeti pastumque venire victimarum, cus 
adhuc rarissimus emptor invenebatur. Ex quo facile 
est opinari quae turba hominum emendari possit, si sit 
paenitentiae locus” (cp. above, pp. 148-9). 

There were reasons why Pliny should represent 
the spread of the movement in as strong terms as 
possible; but, even after allowance has been made for 
the Christian and the non-Christian population. Not so the Pauline 
epistles. The local Christians have obviously excited a disagreeable 
interest in their affairs; they are exposed to the hostility of the 
provincials, although the authorities still refrain.from any action, 
The epistle belongs, I should say, to the earlier years of Domitian. 


! In an ancient preface to John’s Gospel (cp. the old manuscript 
of Toledo) we hear of brethren from Pontus. 


332 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


this, his testimony remains sufficiently remarkable. 
He cannot have invented the spread of the Christian 
religion in the lowlands, or the grip which it took of 
all classes in the population. But who the missionaries 
were, by whose efforts this had been accomplished, 
we cannot tell. How well prepared, too, must have 
been the soil, if the Christian crop sprang up to such 
luxuriance! In short, we may claim this letter of 
Pliny as the most outstanding piece of evidence for 
the advance of the Christian missions along the 
whole of the western coast. 

Pliny does not name any city or locality ; evidently ~ 
he would have had to mention too many. And the 
Christian writers are so reticent that these gaps in 
our knowledge remain unfilled. Amisus in Pontus 
is the only place at which we can prove from Christian 
sources, with some show of probability, that Christians 
existed about 100 a.p. (ep. Ramsay’s The Church in 
the Roman Empire, 1893, pp. 211, 225). 

Between Trajan and the death of Marcus Aurelius,* 
our sources supply fourteen fresh names of towns 
containing Christian communities, in addition to the 
seventeen already noted—an infinitesimally small 
number in view of the large number of new churches 
which must have been planted throughout Asia 
Minor during these eighty years. ‘Those named are 
Sinope on the Black Sea (the home of Marcion, 

1 In this connection one has also to recollect the reseript of 
Hadrian to Minucius Fundanus and the interpolated rescript of 
Pius to the Diet of Asia (Texte u. Untersuch., xiii. 4), both of which 
presuppose a not_inconsiderable extension of Christianity in Asia, 
The local Diet is already concerned with Christians. On the other 


hand, no weight is to be attached to the story told by Lampridius 
in his Vita Alex. Severi 43, about Hadrian and Christianity. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 333 


whose father is said to have been the local bishop ; 
Hippol., in Epiph., Her., xli. 1), Philomelium in 
Pisidia (cp. the epistle of the Smyrniote church upon 
Polycarp’s death), Parium in Mysia (for in this 
connection we may trust the Acta Onesiphori), 
Nicomedia (cp. the epistle of bishop Dionysius of 
Corinth to the local church in Eus., H.F., iv. 23), 
Amastris “and the other churches in Pontus” (the 
epistle of Dionysius to them, /oc. cit. ; here the metro- 
politan organization would be in working order by 
the reign of M. Aurelius), and Hieropolis in Phrygia 
(however one may view the famous inscription of 
Abercius, we may infer from it that Christianity had 
by that time reached Hieropolis).'| The other eight 
towns are known to us from sources relating to the 
Montanist movement, viz., Ancyra in Galatia (Kus., 
v. 16), Otrus, Pepuza, Tymion [= Dumanli?], 
(Ardabau) [ev t7 cata tyv @pvyiav Mucia = Kardaba 2}, 
-Apamea, Cumane, and Eumenea, all in Phrygia (cp. 
Eus., H.E., v. 16. 18). So far as we know, the first 
synods in connection with the Montanist controversy 
were held in Asia Minor, although they did not 
confine themselves strictly to one province. 

Before entering into the evidence at our disposal 
for the several provinces of Asia Minor, I shall briefly 
put together some data which serve to prove the 
wide diffusion of Christianity by the close of our 
epoch, circa 325 A.D. 

(1) The edicts of Maximinus Daza against 
Christians, with their declarations that ‘almost all 


1 The Acta Pauli probably testify also to the existence of a church 
at Myra in Lycia, during the second century. 
* Cp. Ramsay’s Phrygia, p. 573. 


334 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


men” have gone over to Christianity (EKus., HZ., 
ix. 6),’ refer mainly to the situation in Asia Minor 
(and Syria). From the servile petitions of the cities, 
even of Nicomedia (loc. cit., and ix. 2 f.), asking 
the emperor to issue a command that no Christian 
should reside within their bounds or even in their 
surroundings, we may conclude that the local 
Christians were not, relatively speaking, a small body. 
As for Bithynia in particular, this edict of Daza 
implies the existence of a specially large number of 
Christians. The petition sent up by the cities had 
ultimately the effect of prohibiting public worship 
within the city walls. Perhaps it was not meant to 
be serious at all; the idea of such petitions was to 
curry favour with the emperor.’ 

(2) In the speech already quoted (pp. 162-3), which 
was delivered in Nicomedia, Lucian of Antioch 
declares that “pars paene mundi iam maior huic 
veritati adstipulatur, wrbes integrae; aut si in his 
aliquid suspectum videtur, contestatur de his etiam 
agrestis manus, ignara figmenti.” 


1 qvika ovvetdov, oxédov aravtas avOpuirous KataXerpOeions THs TOV 
Jedv Opnokeias TO eOver TOV Xpiotiavdv EavTods cvppeptyoras (ep. vol. i. 
p- 342, ii. pp. 124 f.); also the edict in ix. 7. 9: cyeddv eimely ra 
TavTAaXodD THS oikovpevyns aicxvvas ériele (“ Christianity, it may 
almost be said, crushed the whole world with its shame”). The 
designation of Christians as 7d éOvos tév XpictiavGv occurs rather 
frequently in the imperial rescripts of that period. 

* Even if one assumes that the petitions were really meant to be 
taken seriously, with their demand for the formal ejection of all 
Christians, no light is yet thrown upon the number of Christians. 
One has to remember, by way of comparison, how strong the 
Huguenots were in France, when the aim was utterly to root them 
out. One always reckons in such cases upon the majority aban- 
doning their faith. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 335 


(3) The expression, “‘urbes integrae,” is corroborated, 
so far as regards Phrygia, by Eus., H.E., viii. 11. 1, 
where we read how an entire town in this pro- 
vince, which was Christian, was burnt during 
Diocletian’s persecution (07 yoty 6dr Xpicriavev 
ToAw av avd pov aur THY Ppvyiay ev KUKA@ mepiParovres 
omNiTal, TP TE vparlbarres catepreEav avTous dua vyTrloLs Kat 
1 


yuvaet, TOV X pirrov er Bowuevous), 


Even eighty years 
earlier (for so, I take it, we must understand the 
authority cited in Epiph., Har., li. 33), Thyatira 
was practically a Christian (7.e. a Montanist) city. 
(4) From the Vta Constantini, II. i. 2, it follows 
that there were several churches at Amasia in Pontus 
during the reign of Licinius. And if there were 
several in a town like this, which was not in the front 
rank, we may safely assume that many towns of Asia 
Minor already contained not one church but many.” 


1 « A whole town of Christians, in Phrygia, was surrounded by 
soldiers when its citizens were inside. Fire was flung into it, and 
the troops burned it up, with men, women, and children, all calling 
upon Christ.” The sequel is particularly instructive, as showing 
the extent to which Christianity had become naturalized in the 
country ; even the authorities of the town were Christians (dri 8) 
TavOnpel TAVTES Ol TIV TOAW oikotVTES, AOYLATHS TE ALTOS Kal OTpaTHYyOS 
ow Tois ev TEL wGoL Kai OAw Oypw, Xpiotiavois opas dpodoyorvTes, 
oid drwortiody Tots TpooTaTTovew €eidwoXraTpeiv ereHdpxour, cp. p. 191). 
Lactantius also (Jnstit., v. 11) mentions the incident: “Unus in 
Phrygia universum populum cum ipso pariter conventiculo concrem- 
avit”’ (“One burned up a whole town in Phrygia, with its assembly 
and all’’), 

? Throughout the towns it is obvious that the churches generally 
were quite small; for Licinius (Vta Constantini, I. liii.), pleading 
hygienic reasons, decreed that Christians were to conduct their 
worship in the open air. On his part, this was purely a pretext for 
either ridding the towns of their presence or throwing obstacles in 
the way of their worship. 


336 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


(5) Dionysius of Alexandria (Kus., H.H., vii. 7) 
had already described the churches of Phrygia and 
the adjoining provinces as “the most populous 
churches.” These districts had the largest number 
of bishoprics and the largest churches in the Kast— 
a fact which is confirmed by the council of Nicza. 
For although attendance at the council depended 
upon all sorts of accidental circumstances, so that 
inferences from it are not quite certain, still the local 
strength of Christianity in a province which was, 
comparatively speaking, so remote and wild as 
Isauria, is clearly shown by its representation at 
Nica of thirteen bishops and four chor-episcopi, 
drawn from all parts of the country. 

(6) Besides the mere number of chor-episcopi 
attending Nicewa, the Christian inscriptions from the 
small townships of Phrygia, the story of Gregory 
Thaumaturgus (see below), the evidence of Lucian, 
and other sources as well, show still more forcibly 
that Christianity during the third century had pene- 
trated deeply into the population of the towns and 
country districts throughout Asia Minor, partially 
absorbing into itself the native cults.’ 

1 An admirable and comprehensive work upon the Christian 
inscriptions of Asia Minor has been written by Cumont: Les Jnser. 
Chrét. de l' Asie mineure, Rome, 1895 [Extr. des Mélanges d’ Archéo- 
logie et d’ Histoire, t. xv.). True, we cannot prove more than nine 
dated Christian inscriptions for the pre-Constantine period (besides 
the inscription of Arycanda, which refers to Christians), but 
Duchesne and Cumont have shown that internal evidence justifies 
one in claiming a considerable number of undated inscriptions as 
pre-Constantine. The dated inscriptions come from Hieropolis, 
Eumenea, Sebaste, Apamea, Pepuza, and Trajanopolis. On the 


osition of Christians in Asia, Cumont rightly observes (pp. 26 f.): 
p ’ 
“La paix relative ol vécurent ces communautes, n’y laissa pas 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 337 


(7) Palpably, the reaction under Julian could not get 
any footing in Asia Minor, owing to the strong hold 
of the country already won by Christianity. This 
explains, among other things, why the names of the 
bishoprics, which we can verify for Asia Minor, 
determine the actual number of these bishoprics still 
less accurately than is the case with the other 
provinces. If a large number of the Eastern pro- 
vinces generally fell under the verdict —a verdict 
which cannot, of course, be strictly proved—that by 
about 325 a.p. the network of the episcopal hierarchy 
had been completed, leaving few meshes to be added 
at a later period,’ then Asia Minor comes _pre- 
eminently within the sweep of such a judgment. 
Still, to avoid the introduction of uncertain data, I 
shall refrain from adducing, by way of evidence, the 
diocesan distribution of the Asiatic provinces, since 
our knowledge of this dates only from a later period. 
I shall merely add in this connection an allusion to 
such towns and localities as can be clearly proved to 
have had Christian communities up to 325 a.p. 


erandir comme ailleurs la haine contre 1 Etat romain. On pouvait 
devenir chrétien et rester bon citoyen; on aimait 4 faire léloge de 
sa ville natale, on y exercait des fonctions publiques, on déposait 
aux archives la copie de son testament, on stipulait contre les viola- 
teurs de son tombeau des amendes au profit de la caisse municipale 
ou du trésor publique .. .. Rien d’étonnant que dans un pareil 
milieu les idées et les coutumes antiques se soient plus qu’ailleurs 
mélées aux convictions nouvelles, que dans la vie journaliére on ait 
cherché un compromis entre le passé et le présent.” 

1 There are but few traces of new bishoprics having been founded 
in the East by Constantine or his sons. Most of the sees had been 
created previously, it is plain. The main concern of the first 
Christian emperor was the building of churches (7.e. new buildings 
or the enlargement of old ones), and their equipment. 

VoL, TI, 22 


338 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


A. CAPPADOCIA. 


This province, which was neither densely populated 
nor rich in towns, was passed over by Paul. His 
steps turned westward. But, as 1 Pet. i. 1 implies, 
there were already Christians in Cappadocia. Seven 
Cappadocian bishops attended Nicza, from Caesarea, 
Tyana, Colonia, Cybistra, Comana, Spania (= Spalia), 
and Parnassus,! besides no fewer than five chor- 
episcopi.”. This proves how deeply Christianity had 
permeated the population of the country. By about 
258 a.p. it must have comprised a large Christian 
population, for the Gothic invaders in that year 
dragged off Christians, and even some of the clergy, 
among their captives. ‘These included the parents of 
Ulfilas, who were already Christians, and had resided 
in the village of Sadagolthina near the town of 
Parnassus (Philostorg., H.#., 1. 5). The story of 
the father of Gregory Naz. proves also that there 
was a Christian community at Nazianzus (Dio- 
Ceesarea) previous to Constantine.” 

After the second century we frequently come 
across Cappadocian Christians in other provinces (ep., 


1 The last-named town is doubtful, however; still, there is no 
doubt that there were local Christians by the middle of the third 
century, for such were to be found in the village of Sadagolthina 
near Parnassus. Perhaps Camulia, near Cesarea, had also Christians 
about this time (cp. von Dobschiitz’s Christubilder, p. 40, p. 14**). 

2 Cappadocian chor-episcopi also attended the synod of Neo- 
Cesarea. The bishop of Caesarea was at Ancyra. 

3 For evidence of Christians, during the reign of M. Aurelius, 
in the district of Melitene, ‘west of the upper Euphrates, which 
may be grouped also along with Cappadocia, cp. below, under 
« Armenia,” 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 339 


e.g., the Acta Justini 41, where Euelpistus comes of 
Christian parents in Cappadocia). Tertullian, far offin 
Carthage, can even tell of a Cappadocian persecution 
(cp. Neumann, op. cit., 1. p. 70) between 180 and 196: 
“Claudius Lucius Herminianus in Cappadocia, cum 
indigne ferens uxorem suam ad hanc sectam transisse 
Christianos crudeliter tractasset solusque in praetorio 
suo vastatus peste convivis vermibus ebulisset, nemo 
sciat, aiebat, ne gaudeant Christian aut sperent 
Christianae. postea cognito errore suo quod tormentis 
quosdam a proposito suo excidere fecisset, paene 
Christianus decessit ” (ad Scap. iii.: “ Enraged at the 
conversion of his wife to this sect, Claudius Lucius 
Herminianus in Cappadocia treated the Christians 
cruelly. But afterwards left alone in his palace and 
devoured by disease, he grew fevered with worms 
eating his vitals, and would cry out, ‘ Let none know 
of it, lest the Christian men rejoice and Christian 
wives take heart.’ Subsequently, he came to see his 
error in having forced some to give up their faith by 
means of torture. And he died almost a Christian 
himself ”). 

The bishopric of Czsarea, the metropolis of 
Cappadocia, was widely known throughout the church 
on account of two men, both friends of learning, viz., 
Alexander and Firmilian. ‘The former (cp. my Litt.- 
Gesch., i. pp. 505 f.) was bishop at Caesarea’ when 
quite a youth; he was a friend of Clement and of 
Origen ; and as bishop of Jerusalem he died full of 
years, after having founded a library in Jerusalem. 
Firmilian, who also was a man of Alexandrian 


1 Eusebius did not know what place it was, but Gregory of Nyssa 
(Migne, xlvi. p. 905) mentions it. 


340 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


culture and an ardent votary of Origen (c. 280-268), 
was connected with the most prominent men of all the 
church, even with Cyprian of Carthage (ep. my Litt.- 
Gesch., pp. 407 f.). Thanks to his episcopal efforts * 
Cesarea became a centre of theological culture ; and 
it was here that the learned maiden Julia resided, 
who harboured Origen for two years and received 
one or two books from Symmachus. Much informa- 
tion upon the history of the Cappadocian church 
during the first half of the third century is yielded 
by Firmilian’s letter to Cyprian (ep. Ixxv.), where we 
read of synods, persecutions, heretics, and fanatics. 
Special interest attaches to his account of a prophetess 
(c. 10) connected with the earlier prophetesses of 
Phrygia, who stirred up the whole Christian popula- 
tion during the reign of Maximinus Thrax, and even 
won over to her side a presbyter and a deacon. In 
the controversy over the baptism of heretics, Firmilian 
sided with Cyprian. The most famous Cappadocian 
martyr was Mamas, a simple shepherd (in the days of 
Valerian 7). But unfortunately we have no Acta at 
our disposal. 

Alexander and (especially) Firmilian were respon- 
sible for the theological importance of the Casarean 
and Cappadocian church. As regards the fourth 
century, we can even speak of a distinctive Origenist 
Cappadocian theology, which proved of the utmost 
significance for the church at large, and in point of 
fact for orthodox theology itself. Basil and the two 
great Gregorys were sons of Cappadocia.” Withal, 

1 Gregory of Nyssa calls hima “ distinguished’ Cappadocian. 


2 It is remarkable and instructive to find Eusebius (Vit. Const., 
iv. 43), in describing the bishops who assembled for the dedication 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 341 


a popular Christianity developed simultaneously in 
Cappadocia, which became fused with paganism—as 
may be deduced from numberless statements and 
hints scattered through the works of Cappadocians 
(cp. also the cult of the “ Hypsistarii,” votaries 
of Geos tiuoros), and especially in the letter of Basil 
to Glycerius (ep. clxix. [eccexii.]).". Following in the 
wake of Gregory Thaumaturgus, their teacher,’ these 
Cappadocians well knew how to adjust Christianity 
to Hellenism in the interests of the cultured, Hellen- 
ism being ranked as a preparation for the gospel. 
They understood how to Christianize the cults. But 
above all, they knew how to arrange everything in 
order to promote the might and sanctity of the 
Catholic church, and how to enthrone it over every 
form and phase of existing syncretism, thus putting an 
end to the latter and at the same time perpetuating 
them in the sense of subordinating them, as local and 
justifiable varieties of religion, to the authority of the 
one church and of her cultus. Such an achievement 
would have been impossible, had not Cappadocia been 
practically Christian by about 325 a.p., even though 
its Christianity was cleft in twain. 

Finally, the church of Cappadocia acquires further 
importance as the mother of the Gothic and, in part 
also, of the Armenian churches. 


of the church at Jerusalem by their provincial origins, or in grouping 
them by one distinctive feature, speaks thus of the Cappadocians : 
kal Kazradoxav 8 oft apato. radevoer Adywv pero. Tois wacL 
duexperov (“ And these were the chief of the Cappadocians, pre- 
eminent amongst the rest for learned eloquence”’). They were 
the successors of Firmilian. 

1 Cp. Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire, pp. 443 f. 

2 See under the following section. 


342 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


B. ARMENIA, Diospontus, PAPHLAGONIA, 
AND Pontus POLEMONIACUS. 


The early history of the church in Armenia, Great 
and Small, is wholly wrapt in obscurity. Apart from 
the district of Melitene, it comes before us first of all 
in the statement of Eusebius (vi. 46), that Dionysius 
Alex. wrote “to the brethren in Armenia, whose 
bishop was Meruzanes.” In all likelihood Meruzanes 
was bishop of Sebaste in Armenia Minor, as this 
town was the capital of the province at the time of 
the council of Niczea. From the mode of expression 
in Eusebius (Dionysius), however, it seems probable 
that Sebaste was not the only Christian church in 
Armenia Minor about 200 a.p.' As for the district 
of Melitene, which is to be assigned to the southern 
section of Armenia Minor, we can verify local 
Christians in the reign of M. Aurelius, since, as is 
clear from the story of the miracle of the rain, there 
were numerous Christians in the Thundering Legion 
quartered in that district (see above). We may 
rightly assume (Kus., v. 5) that the soldiers of this 
legion were drawn largely from the local population, 
and Kus. viii. 6 proves that Christianity there was 
very strong (see further the remarks on this passage 
on p. 289).” 

1 | find, among my notes, Nicopolis in Armenia Minor described 
as a town where martyrdoms prove the existence of Christians 
before Constantine. But I am unable to give the reference. 

2 The Christian soldier Polyeuctes, who was martyred under 
Decius or Valerian, also belonged to the Melitene legion (ep. 


Conybeare’s Apol. and Acts of Apollonius and other Monuments of 
Early Christianity, 1894, London, pp. 123 f.; Aubé’s Polyeucte dans 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 343 


The period of the Licinian persecution furnishes us 
with an invaluable source of information for Armenia 
Minor, in the testament of the Forty Martyrs of 
Sebaste,* which shows that Christianity was at that 
time just as widely diffused throughout the smaller 
localities of the province as in Cappadocia. ‘There 
were Christians * in Sarin, Phydela, Chaduthi, Charis- 
phone, and Zimara (none of which, except Phydela, 
can be identified, so far as [ am aware), besides other 
villages which are not named. Even here the Chris- 
tianity * is Hellenic (cp. the numerous personal names), 
and presbyters rule the village-churches along with 
deacons. 


U histoire, Paris, 1882; and Acta S. S., Febr. T. ii. pp. 650 f.). If we 
may credit a remark in what is, relatively speaking, the best 
recension of the Acta Polyeuctes, he was the first martyr at Melitene, 
so that Christianity must have been able to grow there uninter- 
rupted till the reign of Decius. 

1 Cp. Bonwetsch in Neue kirchl. Zeitschr., iii. (1892), pp. 705 f., 
and in the Stud. z. Gesch. d. Theol. u. Kirche (1897), pp. 73 f.; also 
von Gebhardt’s Acta Martyr. Selecta (1902), pp. 166 f. 

2 It is uncertain whether the town of Zela (Pontus) is really 
mentioned in the Acts, or whether the name has been corrupted. 

3 As the following passage (Test. iii.) is almost unique, I shall 
cite it here: zpocayopevomey tov Kipw Tov tpexBvTepov Pidurrov Kal 
IIpoxAvavév Kal Avoyévnv dua tH ayia exxAnoia* mpooayopevopmev Tov 
kipw IpoxAavov év TO Xwopiw PvdeAa apa TH ayia éxxAnoia peta TOV 
iStwv. mpooayopevopev Mééipov peta tis éxxAnoias, Madyvov peta Tis 
éxkAnolas. mpooayopevopev Adpvov peta Tov idiwv, "IAny tov warépa 
jpav kat OddAnv pera THs eKkAnoias. mpocayopedw Kai éyo MeXeros 
Tovs avyyeveis pov Aovtdviov Kpioroy kai Tépdiov pera tov idiov. 
Tporayopevopev Kal Tovs ev TO xwpiw Lapeiv, Tov TpecPTEpov peta TOY 
idtwv, Tors Siakdvous peta Tov idiwv, Magimov peta TOV idtwv, “Hovxvov 
pera Tov iSiwv, Kupraxdy pera. tov diwv, tpooayopevopev Tods ev Xadovdi 
mavras kar dvopa, Tporayopevopev Kai Tovs ev Xapurpuvy wdvras Kat 
dvopa. Tpocayopedw Kai ey Aérios Tods cvyyevets pov Mapkov Kab 
"Axvdivay Kat Tov rpecBirepov KAavdvov kal tods adeAdovs ou Mapxor, 
Tpipwva Pépdiov Kal Kpiorov xat ras ddeAdds pov Kal tiv otpBudv pov 


344 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


The bishops of Sebaste and Satala (in the extreme 
north-west of the province) attended Nicewa. The 
presence of Christians in Melitene is further proved 
by the martyrdoms; cp. especially Eus., vii. 6. 8, 
where the remark that the clergy were numerous “in 
every locality ” refers to Syria and Melitene. 


One of the most notable facts in all the history of 
the spread of Christianity is that Armenia Major’ 
was officially a Christian country by the beginning of 
the fourth century. Eusebius calls the Armenians 
simply by the name of Christians, and describes 
the attack made by Maximinus Daza as a religious 


Aopvav peta TOD Taidiov pov. mpocayopevw Kal eyo Eitvxuos Tots ev 
Eipdpous, THVv pytépa prov lovA‘av kal Tovs adeAdovs prov KvprAdov “Poddov 
kai PéyAov kat KupiAAav Kat tiv vipdyv pov BactAciav Kat Tods dvaKdvous 
KAavdvov, kai “Povdivor, kat IpdxXov. mpocayopevouev Kat Tods banperas 
Tod Geod Lampixiov (Tov Tod) “Appwviov kal Tevéovov, Kal Swodvvay pera. 
tov idtwy (“We hail the presbyter Philip and Proclianus and Dio- 
genes, with the holy church; Proclianus in the district of Phydela, 
with the holy church and his own people; Maximus with his 
church, Magnus with his church, Domnus with his own people; 
Iles, our father, and Vales, with his church. I, Meletius, hail my 
kinsmen Latanius, Crispus, and Gordius, with their households. 
We hail also those in the district of Sarin, the presbyter and his 
people, the deacons and their people, Maximus with his people, 
Hesychius with his people, and Cyriacus and his people. We 
further hail all in Caduthi by name, all in Carisphone by name. I, 
Aetius, hail my kinsfolk Marcus and Aquilina and Claudius the 
presbyter, my brothers Marcus, Tryphon, Gordius, and Crispus, 
with my sisters and Domna my wife and my child. I, Eutychius, 
also hail those in Zimara, my mother Julia and my brothers Cyril, 
Rufus, Riglos, and Cyrilla, my bride Basileia, and the deacons, 
Claudius, Rufinus, and Proclus. We also hail and salute God’s 
servants, Sapricius (the son of ?) Ammonius and Genesius, and 
Susanna with her household’’). 

1 On the relations between the Syrian and Armenian churches, 
see Texte u. Untersuch., xxvi. 4. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 345 


war’ (#7.E., ix. 8. 2: “In addition to this the tyrant 
was obliged to make war upon the Armenians, men 
who had been old allies and friends of Rome. Being 
Christians and earnest in their piety towards God, 
this foe of God tried to force them to offer sacrifice 
to idols and demons, thus turning friends into foes 
and allies into enemies”). When Constantine recog- 
nized and granted privileges to Christianity, he was 
only following in the footsteps of the Armenian 
king. Unfortunately the Greek sources for the 
Christianizing of Armenia are extremely silent (yet 
see Sozom., il. 8), while no account need be taken 
of the late Byzantine or the romancing Armenian 
chronicles. We merely learn that two bishops from 
Armenia Major took part in the Nicene council, their 
names alone (Aristakes, who is said to have been the 
son of Gregory the Illuminator, and Akrites) being 
mentioned, not their sees, although the former may 
have resided at AStiSat, the metropolis. Authentic 
statements by Armenian historians are infrequent, but 
we can secure one or two items of information.? The 
headquarters of the Christian mission in Armenia during 
the third century, and (so far as the mission survived) 
during the fourth, were Casarea in Cappadocia? and 


' rovtos mpoceraviotata, TO tupdvvwy 6 mpds “Appeviovs zdXEWos, 
avopas €€ apxaiov pidouvs te Kal ovppdxous “Pwpaiwv, ods Kal adrods 
Xpiotiavovs dvras Kai Ti eis TO Oelov cio eBeray bia orovdys rovovpevous 
0 Oeopions <idddro1s Dew Kai Saiuwoow eravayKdoat Teretpapevos €xOpods 
avtt hilwv Kat Toepious avTl cuppaxwv KaTerTHTATO. 

2 Cp. Gelzer, Protest. R.-Encyclop.”, ii. pp. 74 f. 

° How strong and far-spread Christianity must have been in 
Armenia Minor and Cappadocia and the neighbouring provinces at 
the close of the third century, when the Armenian monarch resolved 
to elevate it to the position of the State-religion in his country ! 


346 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Edessa (cp. the reception of Thaddeus, and the Abgar 
legend), then Antioch and perhaps Nisibis as well (ep. 
Marquardt, Zeits. deutsch. morgenl. Gesellsch., 1895, 
p. 651). Asa result of this, the Armenians got both 
Greek and Syrian Christianity, as well as the literature 
of both these peoples (although all the literature that 
could come to them from Syria consisted in the main 
of translations from the Greek). In one or two dis- 
tricts of Armenia, Syriac even became for a time 
the ecclesiastical language. The great missionary, or 
rather the great church-founder, of Armenia was 
Gregory the [luminator, who had fled before the 
Persians from his native land. He adopted Christi- 
anity (ze. Greek Christianity) in Caesarea. On the 
Persian yoke being flung off by the Armenians, 
Gregory stood by the king, who was only hostile to 
Christianity at the outset, and Christianity was set 
up as against the Persian worship. As an exclusive 
religion it was far better adapted than the cults of 
Hellenism and the native Armenian faith to safe- 
guard the Armenians against the Persians. ‘The 
country was systematically and vigorously Christi- 
anized. The temple-worship was overthrown. And, 
by desire of the king (so we are told), Gregory was 
escorted by a brilliant retinue of Armenian feudal 
lords on his journey to Cesarea, where Leontius—the 
bishop who attended the Nicene council—consecrated 
him as Catholicus of Armenia. The most sacred 
sanctuary of the kingdom was destroyed at AsStiSat, 
and the chief church of Armenia, the mother-church 
of the country, was erected. ‘Twelve bishoprics, it is 
said, were instituted by Gregory, after the work of 
conversion had been energetically carried through. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 347 


And all this was enacted by the very beginning of 
the fourth century. By the time the council of 
Nica met, Gregory had died, and (Aristakes ?) his 
son had succeeded him. 


The wide spread of Christianity in Pontus about 
the year 170 is attested by Lucian (Alex. Abun., 25. 
38), who writes that “the whole country is full of 
atheists and Christians.” Here (including Paphla- 
gonia as well) there were a number of churches, in 
the reigns of M. Aurelius and Commodus, which had 
a metropolitan resident in Amastris. This follows 
from the letter of Dionysius of Corinth addressed to 
them (in Eus., H.E., iv. 23: 77 ékkAnoia TH Tapokoven 
"Auactpw dua tais cata [lorrov), and from the part 
taken by the Pontic church in the Easter controversy 
(tbid., v. 23: a writing tov cata Movtoy émickdrov, dv 
[la\uas ws apyaoratos mpoitéraxto). Of the local 
churches, we know Pompeiopolis and _ Ionopolis, 
whose bishops, together with the bishop of Amastris, 
attended the Nicene council. ‘There was certainly a 
church at Gangra, too, about 325 a.p.; for, as the 
town had a metropolitan ci7ca 350 A.p., it cannot have 
been entirely pagan some twenty-five years earlier. 
Hippolytus (Comm. in Dan., p. 282 f., ed. Bonwetsch) 
has preserved for us one episode from the history of 
Christianity in Pontus, an episode which reminds us 
very strongly of the incident of the prophetess in 
Cappadocia and of the Montanist movement in 
Phrygia, proving at the same time how readily the 
Christian population of Asia Minor were disposed 
to take up with such fanatical movements. Un- 
fortunately he does not name the town whose 


348 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


bishop represented the movement in question.’ The 
Novatians were particularly numerous in Paphla- 
gonia (see Socrat., i. 38), and they had regular 
churches. 

Three bishops from Diospontus attended Nicza, 
from Amasia and Comana and Zela. The last-named 
was also present at the synod of Ancyra in 314. 
Amasia, even in the days of Gregory Thaumaturgus 
(circa 240 A.D.), Was an episcopal see and the 
metropolis of Diospontus, while Comana had got a 


1 Ci rl < 4 > la / \ + ee ‘ > / 
Erepos TLS OJLOLWS eV TH Ilovrw KQL QvuTOS TPOETTWS exkAnoias, 
eiAaijs pev avinp Kai Tarevoppur, pa) TpoTexwv O€ dapadas Tals ypadais, 
> XA n c /, e > x ew, Lal > 4 > ‘\ XN > > 
GAXA Tots Opdpacw ois avTOS Ewpa padrXov éexioTEvEV. ETITLYXoaV yap ed 
Cus \ Q / \ , > 4 IE Xr \ ré fal 16 Xi a 
€Vl KQL OEVTEPw KQL TPLTW EVUTVLO, YPCAaTO OUTOV T po eVyelv TOLS GOE pois 
ds mpopytns* Td0€ eldov Kai TOOe pera yiver Oat, Kat 51) Tote wAavyOets 
> , 3 \ ov \ > \ c / / s 
€LT7TEV * YVlVWO KETE, adeAdoi, OTL PETA EVLAUTOV 1 KPLOLS perXrer yiver Oa. 
ot d€ dkovaavTes adTOD Tpor€yorTos, ws OTL eveTTHKEV 7) HLEPA TOD Kuptov, 
petra KAavOpav Kai ddvpydv éd€ovTo Tod Kupiov vuKTOS Kal Hyepas TPO 
bpbadrpav €xovtes THY eTEPXOMEVNV THS KplTEWS HUEpay. Kal Eis TOTODTOV 
” / \ / \ 3 / Y 20 5 eo) SY / ‘ 
myaye poBos Kat deréa Tods ddeAdors, date Carat adtdv Tas Ywpas Kal 
TOUS Aypovs Epyovs, TA TE KTHPaTA av’TOV ol weElovs KaTerwAnTaV. 6 Oe 
én aitois: eav pay yevytar KaO@s eirov, pyKére pyde Talis ypadais 
, > \ ~ a ¢ las a (3 , c \ \ 
TuaTevonte, GANG ToLeiTW ExagTOS Lov O PovrAeTa . . . . at db ypadat 
epdvycav adnbevovoa, ot d€ ddeAGot eipeOncav cKavdadrr:Lopevor, OoTE 
Aourov Tas TapHévovs aitav yhyat Kat Tos avdpas ert Tiv yewpyiav 
xopnoar’ of O€ ik TA EavToy KTHpaTa TwAyjcavTeEs ebpeOnoay voTEpov 
érautouvres. ‘‘ Likewise was it with another one in Pontus, himself 
a leader of the church, who was pious and humble-minded but did 
not adhere close enough to the Scriptures, giving more credit to 
visions which he saw. For chancing to have three dreams, one 
after another, he proceeded to address the brethren as a prophet, 
saying, ‘I saw this, ‘This will come to pass.’ Then on being 
proved wrong he said, ‘Know, my brethren, that the judgment 
will take place after the space of one year.’ So, when they heard 
his address, how that ‘the day of the Lord is at hand,’ with tears 
and cries they besought the Lord night and day, having before 
their eyes the imminent day of judgment. And to such a pitch 
were the brethren worked up by fear and terror, that they deserted 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 349 


bishop from Gregory (cp. Gregory of Nyssa; Vita 
Eeapcorn, c. 19 f.).+ ‘The church of Smope: in 
Diospontus was founded as early as the beginning of 
the second century. Marcion (cp. p. 332) came from 
there, and it is obvious from the account of the 
persecution of Licinius (Vit. Const., ii. 2.; HE, 
x. 8. 15, “ Amasia and the rest of the churches in 
Pontus”) that there were several episcopal churches 
in Diospontus before 325 a.p. 


The life of Gregory Thaumaturgus, which has just 
been mentioned, is thrown by its author, Gregory of 
Nyssa, into the form of an oration;” but it supplies us 
with some excellent information upon the Christian- 
izing of the western part of Pontus Polemoniacus, 
and at the same time with a particularly instructive 
sketch of the way in which the mission was carried 


their fields and lands [being evidently a country church], most of 
them selling off their property. Then said he to them, ‘If it does 
not happen as I have said, never trust the Scriptures again, but let 
each of you live as he likes,’ The year, however, passed without 
the prophesied event occurring. The prophet was proved to be a 
liar, but the Scriptures were shown to be true, and the brethren 
found themselves stumbling and scandalized. So that afterwards 
their maidens married and the men went back to their husbandry, 
while those who had sold off their goods in haste were ultimately 
found begging.” 

'« All the citizens’ of Comana are alleged to have besought 
Gregory to establish a church. He gave them Alexander, a 
philosopher and ascetic, for a bishop. An “ episcopus Comanorum ” 
is said by Palladius to have been martyred along with Lucian at 
Nicomedia (Ruinart, p. 529). 

2 Migne, vol. xlvi. pp. 893 f.; cp. also Rufinus’s Church-History 
(vii. 25), the Syriac “ Narrative of Gregory’s exploits,’ and Basil, 
de spiritu \xxiv. 


350 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


out, and of how paganism was “ overcome ”—2.é. 
absorbed. 

Gregory, the Worker of Wonders, was born of 
pagan parents in Neo-Czsarea, but was converted 
by Origen. Striking up a fast friendship with 
Firmilian of Cappadocia, he returned to his native 
place and was consecrated bishop of Neo-Czxsarea 
about 240 a.p. by Phadimus, the bishop of Amasia. 
At that time there were only seventeen Christians in 
the town and its environs. When he died (shortly 
before 270 a.p.) there is said to have been only the 
same number of pagans to be seen within the town.' 
Certainly the Christianizing of the town and country 
was carried out most completely.” Gregory succeeded 
because he set up Christian miracles in opposition to 
those of paganism,’ because he had the courage to 
expose the cunning and trickery of the pagan priests, 
and because he let the rude multitude enjoy their 
festivals still in Christian guise. ‘The preaching of 
the gospel made its way in all directions, the doctrine 
of mysteries operated powerfully, and the aspiration 
for what was good increased, as the priesthood got 
introduced in every quarter.” As was customary in 
the country, Gregory held assemblies in the open air. 


1 Gregory carefully explored, not long before he died, the whole 
of the surrounding country, to find out if there were any who 
had not accepted the faith. On discovering that there were not 
more than seventeen, he “thanked God that he had left his 
successor as many idolaters as he had found Christians when he 
himself began.” 

2 Athenodorus also took part in the work. He was Gregory’s 
brother, and bishop of some unknown place in Pontus. 

3 Mary and John appeared to him, and he turned such visions to 


good account. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 351 


During the Decian persecution, “as that great man 
understood well the frailty of human nature, recogniz- 
ing that the majority were incapable of contending 
for their religion unto death, his counsel was that the 
church might execute some kind of retreat before the 
fierce persecution.” Personally, he too fled. ‘“ After 
the persecution was over, when it was permissible to 
address oneself to Christian worship with unrestricted 
zeal, he again returned to the city, and, by travelling 
over all the surrounding country, increased the 
people’s ardour for worship in all the churches by 
holding a solemn commemoration in honour of those 
who had contended for the faith. Here one brought 
bodies of the martyrs, there another. So much so, 
that the assemblies went on for the space of a whole 
year, the people rejoicing in the celebration of festvvals 
in honour of the martyrs. ‘This also was one proof 
of his great sagacity, viz., that while he completely 
altered the direction of everyone’s life in his own day, 
turning them into a new course altogether, and 
harnessing them firmly to faith and to the knowledge 
of God, he slightly lessened the strain upon those who 
had accepted the yoke of the faith, in order to let them 
enjoy good cheer in life. For as he saw that the raw 
and ignorant multitude adhered to idols on account 
of bodily pleasures, he permitted the people—so as to 
secure the most vital matters, i.e. the direction of their 
hearts to God instead of to a vain worship—permited 
them to enjoy themselves at the commemoration of the 
holy martyrs, to take their ease, and to amuse them- 
_ selves, since life would become more serious and earnest 
naturally in process of time, as the Christian faith 
came to assume more control of it.” Gregory is the 


352 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


sole missionary we know of, during these first three 
centuries, who employed such methods ;* the cult of 
the martyrs, with its frenzied pagan joy in festivals, 
took the place of the old local cults. Undoubtedly 
the method proved an extraordinary success. ‘The 
country became Christian. A sphere which had 
been overlooked at the outset of the mission, rapidly 
made up lost ground, and the country ranked along 
with the provinces of Asia Minor, which had been 
Christianized at an earlier period, as substantially 


1 On the blending of religions in Asia, ep. also T'eate u. Untersuch., 
N.F. iv. 1 (Marutas, pp. 11 f.).—Gregory’s exploits and testimony 
are subsequently applied by Theodoret to the church at large 
(Graec. affect. curat., viii. fin., opp. ed. Schulze, iv. pp. 923 f.), but 
without any of Gregory’s naiveté and without his naive attitude 
towards the festivals: ra pev yap éxeivwy mavTeAds dueAvOn TEemevy, WS 
pnde oxnpatwy diapetvar TO cidos, pnde TOV Pwpav Tov TUroVv Tos viv 
avOpwrous érictacbar: ai d€ TovTwy vVrAaL KabwowwOyoay Tois TOY pap- 
TUpwv oNKOIs. TOUS yap oikelovs vexpo’s 6 Seamwdrys dvTeanse Tots 
iperépois Oeois: Kat tors piv ppovdous dwrépyve, rovrous Sé Ta eketvwv 
améveye yepa. avti yap dy tov Lavdiwv Kai Avaciwv Kat Avovyoiwv Kat 
Tov addAwv tuav éoprav Iérpov cat IlavAov Kai Owpad kat Yepyiov Kat 
MapxéAXov kat Acovriov kat TLavreXenpovos Kal “Avtwvivov kat Mavpuxiov 
Kal Tov GAAwY paptipwv eruteAodvTar Sypoowila, Kal avtt THs madax 
Toparetas Kal aioypoupyias Kat aicypoppnuootvys swppoves éoptacovTat 
mavyyvpas (“For the glebes of those idols were utterly destroyed, 
so that not even the very form of their statues remains, nor do 
people of this age know the shape of the altars. Their graves were 
also devoted to the sepulchres of the martyrs. For the proprietor 
substituted the corpses of his own family for your gods, showing 
plainly that the latter were gone, and conferring on the former the 
honours which had pertained to their predecessors. For instead of 
the Pandia, Diasia, Dionysia, and the rest of your festivals, the 
feasts of Peter, Paul, Thomas, Sergius, Marcellus, Leontius, Pantel- 
eemon, Antoninus, Mauricius, and the other martyrs are celebrated ; 
and instead of the former ribaldry, obscenity, and foul language, 
orderly assemblies now keep feast”). Cp. also pp. 921 f., where 
the martyrs, in all emergencies (and Theodoret enumerates dozens 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 353 


Christian. In 315 (or thereabouts) a large synod 
was held at Neo-Cesarea, whose Acts are extant.’ 
Christianity also penetrated the Greek towns on 
the coasts of western Pontus Polemoniacus before 
325 a.p. The bishops of Trapezuntum, and even of 
remote Pityus, were at Nicea. Already there may 
have been some Christians among the _ Iberians 
(Georgians) ; but the conversion of this nation did 
not begin till after the great council, being carried 
on partly by the cities already mentioned, partly 
from Armenia, and partly across Armenia from 


Syria (Theodoret, H.L., i. 23). 


C. BITHYNIA. 


After we pass the authentic and surprising testi- 
mony furnished by Pliny to the wide diffusion of 


of cases; unproductiveness, dangers in travel, etc.), appear as semi- 
divine helpers who are to be invoked. Perhaps, too, we should see 
the acceptance of a pagan custom in the statements of Acta Archel. 
ii., where a Christian explains the following custom to the Christians 
of his own country, near Edessa: “ Est nobis mos huiusmodi patrum 
nostrorum in nos traditione descendens, quique a nobis observatus 
est usque ad hune diem: per annos singulos extra urbem egressi 
una cum conjugibus ac liberis supplicamus soli et invisibili deo, 
imbres ab eo satis nostris et frugibus obsecrantes”’ (“Our fathers 
had a custom of this kind, which has come down to us and which 
we still observe: every year we all go outside the city, with our 
wives and children, to pray to the one, invisible God, and to beseech 
him for enough rain for ourselves and our crops’’). The subsequent 
words show that they fasted and spent the night there. 

1 Cp. Routh, Relig. Sacre”, iv. pp. 179 f. The legislation 
restricting the powers of the chor-episcopi (and chor-priests), which 
had begun shortly before at Ancyra (see below), was carried 
forward at Neo-Cesarea (cp. the 13th canon). Some of the 
bishops who attended Ancyra (314 a.p.) were also at this synod, 
together with two Cappadocian chor-episcopi. 

MOM, IT, 


23 


354 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Christianity in this province (see above), we practi- 
cally come upon no further traces of it till the age 
of Diocletian. All we know is that Dionysius of 
Corinth addressed a letter to the church of Nicomedia 
about 170 a.D., warning it against the heresy of 
Marcion (cp. Eus., H.#., iv. 24), and also that Origen 
spent some time here (ep. Orig. ad Jul. Afric.) 
about the year 240 a.p. The outbreak of Dhio- 
cletian’s persecution, however, reveals Nicomedia as 
a semi-Christian city, the imperial court itself being 
full of Christians... From the numerous martyr- 
doms, as well as, above all, from the history of 
Nicomedia during the age of Constantine and 
his sons, we are warranted in holding that this 
metropolis must have been a centre of the church. 
The calendar of the majority of churches goes back 
to the festal calendar of the church of Nicomedia. 
And what holds true of the capital, holds true of 
the towns throughout the province; all were most 
vigorously Christianized. Constantine located his 


1 Maximinus Daza, in a rescript (Eus., H.E., ix. 9. 17), also 
testifies to the very large number of Christians in Nicomedia and 
the province of Bithynia: Mera dé radra, bre TO Tapeh OdvT. eviavTG 
eituxGs éréByv cis tHv Nexopnoeay . . . . éyvwv TAciotous THs adTAs 
Opynckeias avdpas ev avrots Tots pépecw oixety (“ Afterwards, when I 
went up last year to Nicomedia, I found that a large number of 
people belonging to this religion resided in these regions’’). I 
may point out also that both of the contemporary writers who 
attacked Christianity appeared in Bithynia; cp. Lactantius, Jnst., 
v. 2, “ Ego cum in Bithynia oratorias litteras accitus docerem, . . . . 
duo exstiterunt ibidem, qui jacenti et abjectae veritati insultarent ” 
(“When I was teaching rhetoric in Bithynia, by invitation, two 
men were there, who trampled down the truth as it lay prostrate 
and low”’). The one was Hierocles, but the other’s name is not 
given, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 355 


new capital at Constantinople, for the express reason 
that the opposite province was so rich in Christians, 
while the same consideration dictated without doubt 
the choice of Nicwa as the meeting-place of the famous 
council. At the same time, apart from Nicomedia, 
not a single Christian community in Bithynia can be 
heard of before the great persecution, 2.¢c. before 325 
A.D.' The reason for this, however, is that no 
prominent bishop or author was vouchsafed to that 
country, while, on the other hand, the council of 
Nica testifies to the existence of episcopal churches 
at the towns of Nicewa, Chalcedon,” Kius, Prusa, 
Apollonias, Prusa (another), Adriani, and Czsarea, 
besides Nicomedia itself. In the country, also, there 
were episcopal churches, as is shown by the presence 
of two chor-episcopi at Nicea.* The Novatians had 
churches also in Bithynia, at Nicomedia (cp. Socrat., 
i. 18, iv. 28) and Niczea (ebid., iv. 28, vii. 12. 25); 
and it follows from Vita Const. iv. 43 that there 
was a particularly large number of bishops in 
Bithynia. 


1 Tf, however, as is highly probable, “ Apamea’”’ is to be read for 
« Aprima” in the dcta T'ryphonis et Respicit (Ruinart’s Acta Mart., 
Ratisbon, 1859, pp. 208 f.), we must presuppose a Christian church 
at Apamea (Bithynia), though these two saints came not from the 
town itself but “ de Apameae finibus de Sansoro [Campsade ?] vico” 
(from the borders of Apamea, from a village called Sansorus). 
They show how Christianity survived in the country districts of 
Bithynia as well. 

2 Local martyrdoms are reported, as at Nicaa. 

8 There was a Christian community also at Drepana( = Helenopolis; 
ep. Vit, Const., iv. 61), and there were Christians at a city called 
Parethia (°) on the Hellespont (cp. Mart, Jer., Achelis, p. 117), 
which cannot be identified. 


356 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


D. GauatTia, Puryeia, AND PIsIDIA 
(witH Lycaonta). 


In their Christian capacity these central provinces 
of Asia Minor, whose boundaries or titles were 
frequently altered,’ had a common history, although 
S.W. Phrygia gravitated towards Asia.” The Mon- 
tanist movement, which arose in Phrygia proper, and, 
blending with the Novatian movement, forthwith 
became national, was particularly characteristic of 
these provinces. The Phrygian character shows a 
peculiar mixture of wild enthusiasm and seriousness. 
Thus Socrates, who was favourable to them, writes 
(HLE., iv. 28): Paivera TU Ppvyev vy cwppovértepa 
eivat Tov addAAwy eOvev" Kat yup On Kat o7TravlaKts Ppiyes 
OmvvoucU * ETIK PATEL yup TO [Lev Oupucov Tapa DKvOais Kal 
Opaki, Tw de emOuunTKa of T pos avis XovTa ALov THY OlKNoW 
eXOVTES mAéov OovAevovat* TH O€ TlapAayover Kal Ppvyev €Ovy 
T pos ovdéTepoy TOUTWwY ETL PETS exe - ovoe yap im7ro0 popiat 
ove béatpa orovdaCovTat yuy Tap auTOiS . . . . WS pUcOS 
eEalovov Tap autos 7 Tropveta voulCerat CF The Phrygians 
appear to be more temperate than other nations. 


1 The names of Phrygia and Galatia were often employed in a 
broader or a narrower sense, without any regard to the legally 
existing political divisions. I refrain here from entering into the 
question of what “ Galatia’’ means in Paul and elsewhere. 

2 The epistle of the churches at Lyons and Vienna (177/178), 
narrating their sufferings, is addressed to the churches of Asia and 
Phrygia. We may perhaps assume that Phrygia here means simply 
the S.W. section. 

3 Wherever the movement spread throughout the empire, it was 
known as the “ Phrygian” or Cataphrygian movement. There was 
a Montanist-Novatian church in Phrygia, with numerous bodies, in 
the fifth century (Socrat., iv. 28, v. 22, etc.). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 357 


They swear but seldom. Whereas the Scythians 
and the Thracians are naturally of a passionate 
disposition, whilst the inhabitants of the East are 
prone by nature to sensuality. The Paphlagonians 
and Phrygians, on the other hand, are not inclined to 
either of these vices, nor are the circus and theatre 
in vogue with them at the present day. ... As 
for fornication, they reckon that a gross enormity ”). 
The Phrygians described here were already Chris- 
tians. ‘Their wild religious enthusiasm was restrained, 
but the seriousness remained.' Before Montanus was 
converted, he had been a priest of Cybele. Move- 
ments such as that initiated by him’ had occurred, 
as we have seen, in Cappadocia and Pontus; but 
Montanus and his prophetesses knew how to invest 
their movement with power and permanence, by 
erecting for it at once a firm organization. In these 
inland parts primitive Christianity survived longer 
than elsewhere. The third century still furnishes us 
with instances of teachers, as well as prophets, being 
drawn from the ranks of the laity ; and in a letter 
written circa 218 by Alexander of Jerusalem and 
Theoktistus of Caesarea, in connection with the case 
of Origen, we read that “Wherever people able to 
profit the brethren are to be found, they are exhorted 
by the holy bishops to address the people; as, for 


' The enthusiastic and wild Messalians emerged at a later period 
in Asia Minor. 

2 According to Theodoret (har. fab., iii. 6) Montanism was 
rejected by Pontus Polemoniacus, Helenopontus, Armenia, 
Cappadocia, Lycaonia, Pisidia, Pamphilia, Lycia, and Caria. This 
means that no Montanists were to be found there when Theodoret 
wrote, so that—apart from Pisidia—these regions probably never 
had very many of them at all. 


358 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


example, Euelpis in Laranda (Isauria) by Neon, 
Paulinus in [conium (Pisidia) by Celsus, and Theodorus 
by Atticus in Synnada (Phrygia), all of whom are our 
blessed brethren. Probably this has also been done in 
other places unknown to us” (d7ov evplcxovra of éxerndetot 
Tpos TO wpedeiv Tors adeAdovs, Kat TapakaXoovrat TO aw 
7 pow op.irety UTO TOV arylov ETLTKOTOVs WOOT Ep ev Aapav0os 
KveAmis v0 Newvos cat év “Ikoviw ULavAXivos tao Kédoov rat 
ev Dvvvador Oeddwpos uro ’Articod TOV peaaploy ader par. 
elKOS O€ Kal €v AANOLS TOTOLS TOUTO yiver Oat, yeas O€ [AN eleva), 
Lay-teachers like Euelpis, Paulinus, and Theodorus 
did not exist any longer in Palestine or Egypt; as 
is plain from the Palestinian bishops having to go 
to the interior of Asia for examples of this practice.’ 

Almost from the very moment of its rise, the 
Montanist movement indicates a very wide extension 
of Christianity throughout Phrygia and the neigh- 
bouring districts of Galatia; even in small localities 
Christians were to be met with.” Our knowledge on 
this point has been enlarged during the last twenty 
years by Ramsay’s thoroughgoing investigations of 
the whole country; thanks to his meritorious 
volumes, we are better acquainted with the extant 
inscriptions and the topography of Phrygia than with 
any other province in the interior of Asia Minor. We 
have learnt from them how widely Judaism* and 


' This passage [ep. vol. i. p. 453] also is an excellent proof of — 
how well known the churches were to one another. 

* The first village, known to us by name, which had a Christian 
community (by 170 a.p.), is Cumane in Phrygia. Pepuza and 
Tymion were also small centres. 

3 Ramsay, Phrygia, pp. 667 f.: “ Akmonia, Sebaste, Eumeneia, 
Apameia, Dokimion, and Iconium, are the cities where we can 
identify Jewish inscriptions, legends, and names.” 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 359 


Christianity were diffused, locally, in the earliest 
periods, and we have been taught to distinguish and 
make ourselves familiar (even within Galatia and 
Phrygia) with those districts where Christianity 
found but a meagre access. 

With great rapidity the Montanist movement 
flowed over into Galatia and Ancyra on the one 
side,’ and into Asia upon the other.* The synods 
held by the church party, in order to defend them- 
selves against the new prophets, were got up by 
churches belonging to the central provinces, and in 
fact were attended by representatives from the most 
distant quarters of the country (Kus., H.E., v. 19). 
A few decades afterwards, when these churches were 
agitated by the question of the validity of heretical 
baptism, large synods were held at Iconium and 
Synnada (between 230 and 235), attended by bishops 
from Phrygia, Galatia, Cilicia, and the rest of the 
neighbouring provinces (Cappadocia).* Firmilian 

1 The anti-Montanist (in Eus., v. 16. 4) found the church of 
Ancyra wholly carried away by Montanism. 

2 Thyatira fell entirely into their hands (Epiph., Her., li. 33). 

$ Cp. Firmilian (Cyp., ep. Ixxv. 7. 19): “Quod totum nos iam 
pridem in Iconio, qui Phrygiae locus est, collecti in unum con- 
venientibus ex Galatia et Cilicia et ceteris proximis regionibus 
confirmavimus” (“ All of which we have long since established in 
our common gathering at Iconium, a place in Phrygia, gathering 
from Galatia and Cilicia and the rest of the neighbouring 
provinces”’): “ Plurimi simul convenientes in Iconio diligentissime 
tractavimus” (“The majority of us have carefully handled this, 
gathering together in Iconium”’). Dionys. Alex. (in Eus., vii. 7: 
peudOnka Kal TodTo, Ott pi) viv ot ev “Adpixyn povov TovTO Tapeonyayov, 
GXXG Kal mpd ToAAOD Kata TOds TPO NUaV erLTKOTOUS ev Tats TOAVAVOpw- 
morarais ekkAnoias Kal Tals cvvddas TOV GdeAPav ev ‘LKoviw Kal Svvvados 
kal mapa woAAois todo édogev): “I also learnt that this was not a 
recent practice introduced by those in Africa alone, but that long 


360 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


and Dionys. Alex., who give some account of 
them, speak of numerous bishops, but they give no 
numbers. Augustine, on the other hand, following 
some source which is unknown to us, declares that 
there were fifty bishops in Iconium alone. A remark- 
able number ! 

In the following pages I shall give a list of places 
in Galatia, Phrygia, and Pisidia where we know 
Christians were to be found. 

Galatia :— 

Ancyra, the metropolis; cp. the anti-Montanist 
in Eus. v. 16. The Acta Theodoti give an extremely 
vivid sketch of the church during the great persecu- 
tion,' and at the same time warn us against extravagant 
ideas about the size of the church. It was ruled by 
the huckster Theodotus, and apart from the church 
or churches there were but two oratories in the town, 
a MapTuploy TOV TAT plLapxXov and a bh, TOY TAT épwv (ce XV1.) 3 
but Franchi has rendered it highly probable that the 
second case is one of an unconsecrated pagan shrine. 
The local saint Sosander was perhaps a reconsecrated 
hero (c. xix.). A large synod was held here in 314, 
whose Acts are still extant.’ 
ago, in the days of the bishops who were before us, it was resolved 
upon by the most populous churches, and by synods of the brethren 
at Iconium and Synnada, and by many others.” 

1 Edited for the first time in a trustworthy form, with a com- 
mentary, by Franchi de Cavalieri (Rome, 1902). 

2 Cp. Routh, Relig. Sacr.”, iv. pp. 113 f. Of the twenty-five 
canons of this synod, two bear specially on the history of the local 
expansion of Christianity, viz., the 13th and the 24th. The former 
contains regulations for the chor-episcopi, delimiting their powers 
(for the first time in their history), while the latter is a prohibition 


of certain pagan superstitions (oi xatapavrevopevor Kol Tais ovvnbetars 
tov COvav eEaxoAovbodrtes 7) ciodyovtés Twas cis Tos EavTaV oiKoUS Ext 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 361 


Malus (a vUlage near Ancyra, Tis ToAcws arwxiopévov 
onelwy [ALK POU 7 pos TecoapakovTa = * distant all but forty 
miles from the city,” Acta Theod. x., etc.) seems to 
have been entirely Christian. Its small Christian 
community was controlled by one presbyter, and 
remained unmolested during the persecution which 
raged in the metropolis. 

Medicones (a village near Ancyra, Acta Theod. 
x.; here also there seem to have been Christians). 

Tavium (a bishopric: Nicza). 

Gadamana [ = Ekdaumana] (a bishopric: Nica). 

Kina [?] (a bishopric: Nica). 

Juliopolis (a bishopric: the bishop was present at 
Ancyra in 314 a.p. and at Nica). 

Phrygia * :— 

Laodicea (the metropolis: cp. Paul’s epistles, the 
local controversy on the Paschal question, Melito in 
Kus., H.E., iv. 26. 3 [ep. v. 24. 5], and the council 
of Nicaea). 

Hierapolis (Paul; the evangelist Philip and his 
daughters ; Papias; Apollinaris of Hierapolis; Eus., 
ili. 31, 36, 39, iv. 26, v. 19, 24; Nicma). 

Colossz (Paul). 
dvevpéce: pappaxeav 7 Kal Kkabdpoe, k.7..). Eighteen bishops signed 
these resolutions, viz., the bishops of Syrian Antioch, Ancyra, 
Cesarea (Cappad.), Tarsus, Amasia, Juliopolis (Gal.), Nicomedia, 
Zela (Pont.), Iconium, Laodicea (Phryg.), Antioch (Pisid.), Perga, 
Neronias, Epiphania, and Apamea (Syr.), though not all of these 
localities can be proved indubitably. Galatia, Syria, Cappadocia, 
Cilicia, Diospontus, Bithynia, Pisidia, Phrygia, Pamphilia (perhaps 
Cyprus as well), were thus represented. 

1 Duchesne (Orig. du culte, p. 11) rightly observes: “La Phrygie 
était 4 peu prés chrétienne que la Gaule ne comptait encore qu'un 


trés petit nombre d’églises organisées.” Cp. Ramsay, as cited above 


(p. 245). 


362 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Otrus (inscriptions). 

Hieropolis (inscriptions). 

Pepuza (Eus., v. 18; a dated inscription of 260 a.D. ; 
ep. Cumont, op. cit., p. 36, No. 156). 

Tymion (Eus., v. 18). 

[Ardabau] (birthplace of Montanus; Eus., v. 16). 

Apamea (Eus., v. 16; Nicea). 

Cumane, a village (Kus., v. 16). 

Eumenea (Eus., v. 16, v. 24; two dated in- 
scriptions from 249 or 250 a.p.; cp. Cumont, p. 36, 
Nos. 135, 136). 

Sanaus [ = Valentia] (Nica). 

Synnada (Eus., vi. 19, vii. 7; Nicea). 

Trajanopolis (a dated inscription of 279 A.D. ; ep. 
Cumont, p. 37, No. 172). ‘This town is the same as 
Grimenotyre ; cp. Ramsay’s Phrygia, p. 558. 

Azani (Nicea). 

Doryleum (Nicea). 

Kucarpia (Nicea). 

Cotizium (a local Novatian bishop; Socrat. iv. 28). 

Lampe and the Siblianoi district (inscriptions ; ep. 
Ramsay’s Phrygia, pp. 222 f., 539 f.). 

The Hyrgalic district, together with Lunda and 
Motella (inscriptions; ep. Ramsay, pp. 540 f.). 

Sebaste or Dioskome (two dated inscriptions of 
253 or 256 a.p.; cp. Ramsay, pp. 560 f., and Cumont, 
p. 36, Nos. 160, 161). 

[Stektorion] (inscriptions ; ep. Ramsay, pp. 719 f.). 

Bruzos (inscriptions ; ep. Ramsay, pp. 700 f.). 

The Moxiane district (inscriptions; cp. Ramsay, 
ee 717 i.) 

Prymnessus (martyrdom of Ariadne; cp. Franchi 
de Cavalieri, Acta Theodott, etc.). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 363 


[Themisonium] (inscriptions ; cp. Ramsay, p. 556). 

Acmonia or Keramon Agora (inscriptions; cp. 
Ramsay, pp. 562 f., 621 f., 674). 

Tiberiopolis (martyr). 

Amorion (martyr).' 

Pisidia and Lycaonia * :— 

Iconium (the metropolis—Paul, Acta Theclae, 
Acta Justini, Hierax of Iconium, born of Christian 
parents, Eus., H.E., vi. 19, vil. 7, vii. 28, Nikomas 
the bishop of [conium, council of Nicza). 

Antioch (Paul). 

Lystra (Paul). 

Derbe (Paul). 

Philomelium (ep. Smyrniote church to the local 
church, circa 156 A.D.). 

Hadrianopolis (Nicaea). 

Neapolis (Nicza). 

Seleucia (Nicza). 

Limene (Nicea). 

Amblada (Nicza). 

1 In the Acta Achati (Ruinart, Acta Mart., Ratisbon, 1859, pp. 
199 f.), which are said to belong to the reign of Decius, a distinction 
is drawn (in the fourth chapter) between “ Cataphryges, homines 
religionis antiquae”’ and “Christiani catholicae legis,’ so that the 
Antioch mentioned in the first chapter, whose bishop was Achatius, 
is Pisidian Antioch. Or was Achatius chor-episcopus in the vicinity 
of the city? He is called “a shield and succour for the district of 
Antioch” (“Scutum quoddam ac, refugium Antiochae regionis’’). 
Towards the close of the Acta a certain “ Piso Traianorum 
(Trojanorum ?) episcopus” is mentioned. Is not this town the 
Phrygian Trajanopolis, which lies not very far from Pisidian 
Antioch? We can hardly think of a bishop of Troas in Mysia 
Minor, who indeed would be termed “ episcopus Trojanus.” 

2 The bishoprics, with the exception of Iconium, all lie in the 


western division of the province. The large eastern division does 
not appear to have been Christianized. 


364 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Metropolis (Nica). 

Apamea (Nicaea; also an earlier dated inscription 
of 254 a.D.; cp. Cumont, p. 38, No. 209). 

Pappa (Nicza). 

Baris (Nica). 

Vasada (Nica). 

[Calytis = Canytis ? in Pisidia] (martyrs). 

As with Bithynia, so with Pisidia—as the number of 
bishops at Nicaea proves, the province (7.e. its western 
division) was widely Christianized. But as it produced 
no prominent bishops or writers, we learn nothing 
of its local church-history, apart from Iconium. 


E: Asta (Lypia, Mysia) ann Carta. 


Thanks to Paul and the unknown John, Asia 
became the leading Christian province throughout 
Asia Minor. As has been already noted, the 
churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Sardes, 
Philadelphia, Thyatira, Troas, Magnesia on the 
Meander, Tralles, and possibly Parium, were all 
founded in the primitive age. Speaking from the 
experience of his travels and all he had seen in Asia, 
Ignatius mentions [p. 244] émlokKOTOL KATA Ta TEpaTa 
[se. Tov Koocpov]  opicbévTes — so widespread and 
numerous did the Asiatic bishops seem to him (ad 
Ephes. 3). Papylus (Mart. Carpi, ch. 32; see 
above, p. 151) tells the magistrate at Pergamum, 
ev TaoH éerapxta Kal TONEL EloLY fol TéeKVa KATH eor, referring 
primarily to Asia. Tvrenzeus (ill. 3. 4) speaks of “all 
the churches in Asia,” and the epistle of Polycrates, 
bishop of Ephesus, to Victor of Rome during the 
Faster controversy (cp. Eus., H.#., v. 24) brings out 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 365 


very plainly the dignity and the self-consciousness 
of the church at Ephesus. Ephesus was the custodian 
of the great cherished memories of the churches of 
Asia-Phrygia, memories which secured to these 
churches a descent and origin at least equal to that 
of the church of Rome. “For in Asia, too, great 
luminaries have sunk to rest which shall rise again on 
the day of the Lord’s coming; namely, Philip, one 
of the twelve apostles, who rests in Hierapolis, with 
his two daughters, who grew old as virgins, and _ his 
other daughter who lived in the Holy Spirit and lies 
buried at Ephesus. Then, too, there is John, who 
reclined on the Lord’s breast, and who was a priest 
wearing the sacerdotal plate, a martyr, and a teacher. 
He also rests at Ephesus. And Polycarp, too, in 
Smyrna, both bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, 
also a bishop and martyr, from Eumenea, who rests 
at Smyrna. Why need I further mention the bishop 
and martyr Sagaris, who rests at Laodicea, or the 
blessed Papirius, or Melito the eunuch, whose 
whole life was lived in the Holy Spirit, and who 
lies at Sardes?” Note also how Polycrates pro- 
ceeds to add: “I, too, Polycrates, hold by the 
tradition of my relatives, some of whom I have 
closely followed; for seven of my relatives were 
bishops, and I am the eighth.” We do not know 
where these seven bishoprics are to be looked for 
in Asia, and unfortunately we are just as ignorant 
of the members of that largely attended Asiatic 
synod, convoked during the Easter controversy, of 
which Polycrates writes thus: “I could name the 
bishops present, whom I had summoned at your 
desire [7.e. of Victor, the bishop of Rome]; were I 


366 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


to go over their names, they would amount to an 
extremely large number.” 

Important sources relative to the churches in 
Smyrna are available for us in the epistles of John, 
Ignatius, and Polycarp, as well as in the epistle of 
the church to Philomelium and in the Martyrdom of 
Pionius (in the reign of Decius); see also the 
accounts of Noetus, the modalistic Christian, at 
Smyrna. One outstanding feature is the local 
struggle between the Jews and the Christians, and 
also the high repute of Polycarp (“the father of the 
Christians,” as the pagans called him; ep. Smyrn. 
xii.). | During Polycarp’s lifetime, there were 
several Christian churches near Smyrna, for [reneeus 
tells Florinus that Polycarp addressed letters to 
them (Eus., v. 24). There was also a Marcionite 
church at Smyrna or in the neighbourhood during 
the days of Pionius, for the latter had a Marcionite 
presbyter called Metrodorus as his fellow-martyr.' 
But unluckily none of all these sources furnishes us 
with any idea of the Symrniote church’s size.” In 
the Apost. Constit. vil. 46 there is a list of the first 
bishops of Smyrna. 

Pergamum, where the first Asiatic martyr perished, 
is familiar to us in early church history from the 
martyrdom of Carpus, Papylus, and Agathoniké 
(apart from the Johannine letter to the church) ; 
Sardes is known to us through Melito, the local 


1 The sharp emphasis laid on “the Catholic church” in the 
Martyrdom of Pionius indicates plainly that there were sectarian, 
and especially Montanist, churches in Smyrna and Asia. 

2 In the Mart. Pionii a village called Karina is mentioned as 
having a Christian presbyter. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 367 


bishop, c. 170 a.p., whose large ideas upon the relation 
of the church to the empire would not have been 
possible had not Christianity been already a power 
to reckon with in Sardes and in Asia. The authority 
used by Epiphanius in Her. li. 33 declares that 
almost the whole of Thyatira was won for Christ by 
the opening of the third century; he also mentions 
churches which had arisen in the neighbourhood of 
Thyatira, but without giving any names. Papylus, 
who suffered martyrdom in Pergamum, was an 
itinerant preacher hailing from Thyatira. 

The wide diffusion of the Asiatic churches, and 
the zeal they displayed in the interests of the church 
at large, come out in a passage from Lucian’s tale of 
Proteus Peregrinus, where, after narrating Proteus’ 
conversion and imprisonment in Syria, he goes on to 
say: “In fact, people actually came from several 
Asiatic towns, dispatched by the local Christians, in 
order to render aid, to conduct the defence, and to 
encourage the man. ‘They become incredibly alert 
when anything of this kind occurs that affects their 
common interests. On such occasions no expense is 
grudged.” 

The subscriptions of the Nicene council furnish 
further evidence of Asiatic (Lydian and Mysian) and 
Carian towns wth local churches; viz., Cyzikus (where 
there was also a Novatian church; Socrat., ii. 38), 
Ilium, another (?) Ilium, Hypepa, Anza, Bagis, 
Tripolis, Ancyra ferrea, Aurelianopolis, Standus 
[Silandus? Blaundus?], and Hierocesarea.t In 
Caria: Antioch, Aphrodisias (martyr., and Christian 


1 The bishops of Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardes, Thyatira, and Phila- 
delphia were also present at Nicza. 


368 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


inscriptions, to boot), Apollonias, Cibyra (inscriptions; 
ep. also Epiph., Her., li. 30), and Miletus. Martyr- 
Acts from the reign of Decius (Ruinart, p. 205) also 
prove the existence of a Christian church at 
Lampsacus. 

Perhaps on account of the Easter controversy, the 
importance of Ephesus and the Asiatic churches, 
relatively to the church at large' steadily declined 
from the close of the second century in favour of the 
church of Rome. This did not mean any falling off, 
however, in its numbers, rather the contrary. 


F. Lycta, PAMPHYLIA, AND ISAURIA. 


No fewer than twenty-five bishops from these three 
southern provinces of Asia Minor were present at 
Nicza (including four chor-episcopi from Isauria)—a 
sad contrast to the little we know of the churches 
in these districts. With regard to Lycia (Olympus 
and Patara), we are acquainted with the personality 
of Methodius, that influential teacher of the church 
who lived c. 8300 a.p. The newly-discovered inscrip- 
tion of Arycanda (Maximinus Daza) also informs us 
that there were Christians in that locality, and that 
the town joined in presenting servile petitions against 
them.? And finally, it is rendered probable, by the 
Acta Pauli, that there were Christians in Myra, while 
similar evidence is perhaps afforded by Eusebius 


1 It was probably the place where the canon of the four gospels 
originated. 

2 Archeol.-epigraph. Muttheil. aus Ocesterreich-Ungarn., ed. yon 
Benndorf u. Bormann (1893), pp. 93 f., 108. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 369 


(Mart. Pal. iv.-v.) with regard to Gage, not far 
from Olympus.' Nothing is heard of the churches 
in Pamphylia, however, from the mention of Pergé 
in Acts down to the council of Nicza, apart from one 
martyrdom in Attalia; while all we know of Isauria is 
the notice in Eusebius (vi. 19) which has been already 
brought forward (cp. p. 358). The following is a 
list of the churches throughout the three provinces, 
known to us for the most part from the council of 
Nicza :— 

Lycia: Patara (Method., Martyr., Nic.), Olympus 
(Method.), Arycanda (inser. from reign of Daza), 
[Gage] (Euseb.), Myra (Acta Pauli), Perdikia ? 
(Nic., but doubtful). 

Pamphylia: Pergé (Acts, Nic.), Termissus, Syarba, 
Aspendus, Seleucia, Maximianopolis, Magydus (all 
six from Nic., though Magydus is also supported by 
the tradition of St Conon’s martyrdom under Decius ; 
ep. von Gebhardt’s Acta Mart. Sel., pp. 129 f.), Sidé 
(since this town is mentioned shortly afterwards as the 
metropolis of Pamphylia, it probably had a church 
circa 325 a.p.),” Attalia (Mart.). 

Isauria: Laranda (Alex. of Jerus., in Eus., H.E., 
vi. 19, Nic.), Barata, Koropissus, Claudiopolis, 
Seleucia, Metropolis, Panemon Teichos, Antioch, 
Syedra, Humanades (= Umanada), Huasades, Alistra, 
Dio-Cesarea? (or some other township of Isauria). 


1 “Gage” (not Page) is to be read; cp. Mercati’s I Martiri di 
Palestina del Codice Sinaitico (Estratto dai “Rendiconti” del R. 
Inst. Lomb., Serie ii., vol. xxx. 1897). 

2 Sidé was also the birthplace of Eustathius, afterwards bishop of 
Sebaste. As Athanasius calls him a confessor, he must have 
attested his Christianity in Sidé during the Diocletian persecution. 

VOL. Il. 24 


370 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


§ 10. CRETE AND THE ISLANDS (ESPECIALLY 
THE IONIAN). 


From the epistle to Titus it follows that Christi- 
anity had reached Crete before the close of the 
apostolic age. About 170 a.p. Dionysius of Corinth 
wrote an epistle ‘‘to the church of Gorthyna and to the 
other churches of Crete” (Gorthyna being evidently 
the metropolis), and a second epistle to the Cretan 
church of Cnossus, whose bishop, Pinytus by name, 
wrote him a reply (EKus., H.#., iv. 23). But nothing 
further is known of early Christianity in the island, 
and no bishop came from Crete to the Nicene 
council. 

Achelis (Zeitschr. fiir die neutest. Wissensch., i. pp. 
87 f.), like some other scholars before him, has tried 
to prove, from the evidence of the inscriptions, that 
Christian churches existed on the smaller islands, 
particularly in Rhodes and Thera and Therasia, as 
early as circa 100 a.p.; but the proofs of this are 
unsatisfactory, both as regards the fact of Christianity 
and the age of the inscriptions. ‘Thus, even in the 
third century, one may put a query opposite Thera 
and Therasia in connection with Christianity. But 
in Melos, again, Christians seem certainly to have 
existed in the third century. Patmos, with its great 
associations, they would hardly leave unclaimed till 
the fourth century; and martyrdoms are connected 
in tradition with Chios. Bishops from Rhodes (where 
early inscriptions have been also discovered), Cos, 
Lemnos, and Corcyra, attended the Nicene council. 

Paul is reported (Const. App., vil. 46) to have 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 371 


installed Crispus as the first bishop of Aigina—a 
legend which denotes the existence of a church there 
at some early period. ‘The presence of gnostic 
Christians at Samé in Cephallenia may be inferred 
from Clem. Alex., Strom., i. 2.°5." 


§ 11. Turace, Maceponia, Darpanta, Epirus, 
THESSALY, GREECE.’ 


We have but a faint knowledge of Christianity in 
the Balkan peninsula during the first centuries. No 
outstanding figures emerge, and Dionysius of Corinth, 
who exhorted and counselled many churches East and 
West by his letters during the reign of M. Aurelius, 
and collected these letters into a volume (Eus., H.F., 
iv. 23), stands quite by himself. The extension of 
Christianity was far from being uniform. In 
* Kurope,’ over against Bithynia, and Thrace, there 
must have been numerous churches previous to 325 
(cp. also Vet. Const., iv. 43), as is evident from the 


1 Epiphanius the gnostic, whose father was Carpocrates, was 
connected with Cephallenia through his mother, kai beds év Zapy THs 
KedadAnvias teripnta, evoa aitd iepov prtdv AGwv, Bwpot, tenevn, 
povoiov wKoddounTai Te Kal KaOiépwrat, Kal ovviovTes eis TO tepdv ot 
Kedaddjves xara vovpnviav yeveAvov amobéwow Ovovow “Emupaves, 
orevooval Te Kat ebwXodvTaL Kai Uuvor Aéyovrat (“ And is honoured as 
a god in Same of Cephallenia, where a shrine of huge stones, with 
altars and precincts and a museum, has been erected for him, 
and consecrated. And the Cephallenians celebrate his birthday at 
new moon, assembling at his shrine, doing sacrifice, pouring forth 
libations, and feasting, with song of hymns to him’”’). 

2 These represent different provinces of the church with metro- 
politans of their own (ep. Optatus, ii. 1 : “ Ecclesia in tribus Pannoniis, 
in Dacia, Meesia, Thracia, Achaia, Macedonia’’). I group them 
together merely for the sake of unity, as we know little of their 


312 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


church-history of Thrace during the fourth century. 
Corinth and Thessalonica had flourishing churches. 
But the larger part of the peninsula cannot have had 
more than a scanty population of Christians up till 
325, so that we cannot speak of any common 
Christian character or type, of course, in this con- 
nection. [I shall therefore proceed to set down a list 
of the various places, not according to their pro- 
vinces, but as far as possible in chronological order. 
First, those which are known to us from the earliest 
period. 

Philippi, TpPOTH [zparns | peptoos +. Makedovias ror 
(Acts xvi. 12; Paul, Polycarp’s epistle; pseudo- 
Dionysius is our only witness to another letter of his 
addressed to Athens’). 

Thessalonica (where there was a synagogue, or else 
the synagogue of the province ; Paul; Antoninus Pius 
wrote to this city, forbidding any rising against the 
Christians [Melito, in Eus., HE., iv. -26]Gesuie 
metropolitan was present at Nicza, and also at the 
dedication of the church of Jerusalem, 7t. Const, 
Iv. 43). 

Beroea (Paul). 
respective histories. _Duchesne’s study, Les anciens évéchés de la 
Gréce (1896), and the earlier works of de Boor (Zeits. f. k. Gesch., 
xii. 1891, pp. 520 f.), and Gelzer (Zeits. f. Wiss. Theol., xxxii. 1892, 
pp. 419 f.), refer to a later period, but even the period previous to 
300 may have some light cast on it by the list (Duchesne, p. 14), 
which assigns to Eubcea three bishoprics (Chalcis, Carystus, 
Porthmus), to Attica one (Athens), to Northern Greece ten 
(Megara, Thebes, Tanagra, Plateea, Thespie, Coronia, Opus, Elatea, 
Searphia, Naupactus), to the Peloponnese seven (Corinth, Argos, 
Lacedemon, Messina, Megalopolis, Tegaea, Patras). 

1 For “ Macedonia,” see J. Weiss’s article in the Prot. R.- 
Encyklop., vol, xii. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 373 


Athens ' (Paul). From the outset the church here 
was small, and small it remained, for in this city of 
philosophers Christianity could find little room. 
According to Dionysius of Corinth, Dionysius the 
Areopagite was the first bishop of Athens; Anto- 
ninus Pius forbade the city to rise against the 
Christians (see above); and after the persecution of 
M. Aurelius, Dionysius of Corinth wrote to the 
church (Eus., H.., iv. 23), “accusing them almost 
of apostasy from the faith since the death of their 
martyred bishop Publius; and mentioning Quadratus 
who succeeded Publius in the episcopate, testifying 
that the church had been gathered together again by 
his zealous efforts and had gained new ardour for the 
faith.” Origen, who spent some time in Athens, and 
indeed visited it on two occasions at least (Eus., vi. 
32), mentions the local church in c. Cels., III. xxx.: 
“The church of God at Athens is a peaceable and 
orderly body, as it desires to please Almighty God. 
Whereas the assembly of the Athenians is refractory, 
nor can it be compared in any respect to the local 
church or assembly of God.” ‘The bishop of Athens 
attended Nicza. 

Corinth (Paul; the epistle of the Roman church to 
the church. of Corinth c. 95 a.p. ; Hegesippus, in Eus., 
HLE., iv. 22, eremevey 4 exxrAyoia 7 Kopw ov ev To ep0e 
oyw mex pe II piuou ETLOKOTEVOVTOS EV Kopi * ot9 ouveuea 
mAcwr els ‘Pouny, cat cuvderpiya ToS KopwAlow 7pLépas ikavas, 
ev ais cuvaveTranuev TO 0p0o Aoyw = “the Corinthian church 
remained by the true faith till Primus was bishop 

' See the instructive article on “Greece in the Apostolic Age,” by 


J. Weiss, ibid., vol. vii. Apart from Corinth, Greece was a reduced 
country by the time it came into contact with Christianity. 


374 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


in Corinth. I conversed with them on my way to 
Rome, and spent some time with the Corinthians, — 
during which we refreshed each other with orthodox 
teaching.” Dionysius of Corinth’). 

Cenchree (Paul; the Apost. Constit. [vil. 46] men- 
tions the first bishop, whom Paul is said to have 
appointed). 

Lacedemon (Dionysius of Corinth wrote a letter 
to this church [Eus., H.#., iv. 23], enjoiming peace 
and unity ; the fact of a Christian community existing 
in a country town like Iacedemon by the year 170, 
proves that missionary work had been done from 
Corinth throughout the Peloponnese, although the 
subsequent era shows that Christianity only got a 
footing there with difficulty). 

Larissa in Thessaly (Melito [in Eus., HE., iv. 20] 
tells us that Antoninus Pius wrote to this town, 
forbidding it to rise against the Christians),’? the 
metropolis; its bishop was at Nica, for, as I take 
it, the “Claudian of Thessaly,” as he is called in 
most of the lists, is the bishop of Larissa. The 
Greek recension actually describes him as such. 


1 The second recension, extant only in Syriac, of the pseudo- 
Justin’s “‘ Address to the Greeks” (cp. Sttzungsber. der K. Preuss. 
Akad. d. W., 1896, pp. 627 f.), hails from Corinth perhaps, or at any 
rate from Greece. It is a third century document, and opens with 
these words: “ Memoirs which have been written by Ambrose, a 
senator of Greece, who became a Christian. All his fellow-senators 
cried out against him, so he fled away and wrote in order to show 
them all their mad frenzy.” In any case the reference is to the 
conversion of a councillor in a Greek city, 

2 This edict, addressed by Pius to Thessalonica, Athens, Larissa, 
and “the Greeks,” shows that the strength of Christianity in these 
cities must not be underrated, Certainly, one has to bear in mind 
the intolerance of Greeks in all matters of religion, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 825 A.D. 375 


Debeltum in Thrace (Eus. v. 19 informs us that 
this town had a bishop towards the close of the 
second century). 

Anchialus in Thrace (which also had a_ bishop 
about the same time; Joc. cit.). 

Nicopolis in Epirus (according to Eus., H.E., vi. 
16, Origen was there; so that there must have been 
local Christians at that time [Paul wished to winter 
there, according to the epistle to Titus). 

Byzantium in Europe (where the Christologist 
Theodotus was born about 190 a.p. [Hippol., Philos., 
vii. 35 ; perhaps one may refer also to Tert., ad Scap. 
iii.]; on Alexander, the local bishop when Arius 
appeared, cp. Alex. of Alex. in Theodoret, H.£., i. 2). 

Heraclea in Europe, the metropolis (Nicea). 

Stobi in Macedonia (Nicza). 

Thebes in Thessaly (Nicza). 

Eubcea, (Nicza). 

Pele in Thessaly (Niceza ; doubtful, however). 

Scupi [ = Uskiib] in Dardania (Nicaea. The entry 
runs as follows: Aapdavias - Aaxos Makedovias, alluding, 
I should say, to this bishopric). 

Trustworthy notices of the martyrs permit us 
finally to assume the existence of Christians in 
Adrianopolis (Ruinart, p. 439), Drizipara = Drusipara, 
and Epibata in Thrace, Buthrotus in Epirus, and 
Pydna.* 


1 At Tricca in Thessaly, a certain Heliodorus was bishop 
(according to Socrates, H.E., v. 22). If he is to be identified, as 
Socrates declares he is, with the author of the romance, he must 
have lived at the close of the third century, for the romance dates 
from the reign of Aurelian, and was a youthful work. Rohde, 
however, doubts this identification. 


376 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY. 


Thracian Christianity was that of Bithynia. No 
Macedonian or Greek Christianity ever arose, like 
the Christianity of Asia Minor, or of Syria, or of 
Egypt, vigorous as the missionary efforts of the 
Thessalonian church may have been.—For the local 
martyrs, see especially the Martyrol. Syriacum. 


§ 12. Masia AND Pannonia, NoricuM AND 
DaLMATIA.! 


On the soil of Meesia (and of Pannonia, in part), 
while the Romans and the Greeks competed for the 
task of ruling and of developing the land, the former 
gradually got the upper hand, and the province must 
have been counted as Western in the main at an early 
period. Here, too, we find from Acts of martyrs 
and the church’s history in the fourth century, that 
Christianity secured a firm footing in the third 
century. Even by the time that Eusebius wrote, 
however, the local churches (like those of Pannonia) 
were still young. At the dedication of the church 
at Jerusalem, he writes (Vita Constant., iv. 43), the 
Meesians and Pannonians were represented by “the 
fairest bloom of God’s youthful stock among them” 
(Ta Tap’ avtots avOovvrTa KadXAn THs TOU Deod veoAatas). All 
that we learn from the Nicene subscriptions is that 
in “Dacia” (the country south of the Danube, 
modern Servia) at Sardica there was one bishopric, 
-with another at Marcianopolis in Moesia (near the 
shores of the Black Sea), but the Acts of the martyrs 
testify to the presence of Christians at Dorostorium 


1 See the studies in Anal. Bolland., 1879, pp. 369 f., “Saints 
d'Istric et de Dalmatie.” 


cd 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 377 


(Ruinart, p. 570, and Mart. Dasi), Tomi (Mart.), 
and Axiupolis (Mart.), previous to the council of 
Nicza. 

One Pannonian bishop was present at Nicea 
(bishopric unknown). ‘The Acts of the martyrs tell 
us of Christian communities at Sirmium (Ruinart, 
p- 432), Cibalis (2brd., p. 434), Siscia (2bed., p. 521; 
cp. Jerome’s Chron., ad ann. 2324), Singidunum (2dzd., 
p- 435),’ Noviodunum (Mart. Syr.), Scarabantia (2bid., 
p- 523), and Sabaria, the birthplace of Martin of 
Tours, whose parents, however, were pagans (bid., p. 
523). The diocese of the notorious bishop Valens at 
Mursa would also be ante-Nicene. Even the distant 
Pettau had a bishop c. 300 a.p., and in Victorinus 
it had one who was famous as a theologian and 
author, well versed in Greek Christian literature. 

It is extremely surprising how few bishops from 
Meesia or Pannonia (even from the provinces men- 
tioned under § 11) were present at Nicaea. Was the 
emperor indifferent to their presence? Had they them- 
selves no interest in the questions to be discussed at the 
council? We cannot tell. Nevertheless, the fourth 
century saw a large proportion of the spiritual inter- 
change in the church between East and West realized 
in one province, and that province was Meesia. 

The likelihoced is that the number of bishops (and 
consequently of churches also) was still small (see 
above).—It is intrinsically probable that Christianity 
also penetrated Noricum, a country studded with 
towns and wholly Romanized by 300 a.p., with Pettau, 
too, lying close upon its boundary. But the sole 
direct evidence we possess is a notice of the martyr- 


1 Ursacius was afterwards the bishop of this place. 


378 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


dom of St Florian in Lorsch (Martyrol. Jer.: “in 
Norico ripense loco Lauriaco,” cp. Achelis, op. cit., p. 
140). A saint called Maximilian was also honoured 
in Salzburg (Hauck’s Kirchengesch. Deutschlands, 1. 
p. 847), and Athanasius mentions bishops of Noricum 
about the year 343 (4pol. c. Arian 1.). But apart 
from Lorsch, no church in Noricum and no bishopric 
can be certainly referred to the pre-Constantine 
period. 

The wealth of inscriptions which have been dis- 
covered bring to light a considerable amount of 
Christianity in Dalmatia, which may be held with 
great probability to go back to the pre-Christian 
period, particularly as regards Salona (martyrdoms 
also; cp. now CYIL., vol. ii., Supplem., Pars Poster.), 
where a local churchyard goes back as far as the very 
beginning of the second century (Jelic, in the Rdm. 
Quartalschrift, vol. v. 1891; cp. Bull. Dalmat., vol. 
xv. 1892, pp. 159 f.). Four Christian stone-masons 
worked in the mines of Fruschka Gora, whither 
Cyril, bishop of Antioch, was also banished (cp. 
Passio quattuor coronat., in Sitzungsberichte der K. 
Preuss. Akad. d. Wissensch., 1896, pp. 1288 f.). 


\ 13. THE NorrH AND NortTH-wWEsST COASTS OF 
THE BLACK SEA. 


Theophilus, bishop of ‘ Gothia,” and Cadmus, 
bishop of Bosporus, attended the Nicene council. 
Both bishoprics are indeed to be looked for on the 
Balkan peninsula, but it is possible that ‘“ Gothia” 

1 See Delehaye in Annal. Boll. (1904) on “Vhagiographie de 
Salone d’aprés les dernieres découvertes archéol.”’ 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 379 


was the bishopric of Tomi. It does not follow that 
because there were Christians in those cities, there 
were Christian Goths by that time, for the cities were 
Greek. But it is indubitable that the conversion of 
this German tribe had commenced before the year 
325. Ona military raid through Asia Minor in 258, 
the Goths had captured and taken home with them 
a number of Cappadocian Christians, who maintained 
their Christian standing, continued to keep up some 
connection with Cappadocia, and did mission-work 
among the Goths themselves (Philostorg., u. 5). It 
was Ulfilas, of course, who initiated the work of 
converting the Goths upon a large scale, but shortly 
before his day mission-work in the interior of Gotha 
(ets Ta €owWTATA Tis TorOias) was undertaken by the 
Mesopotamian monk Arnobius, who had been banished 
to Scythia (ep. Epiph., Her., xx. 14). Still, Sozomen 
(viii. 19) notes, as a striking fact, that the Scythians 
had only one bishop, although their country included 
a number of towns (in which, of course, there were 
Christians). Tradition tells us of some martyrdoms, 
which are not quite certain, at the Tauric town of 
Cherson during the reign of Diocletian. So far as I 
know, the inscriptions discovered in Southern Russia 
have not disclosed any Christian element which can be 
referred with certainty to the first three centuries. 


§ 14. Rome, Mrppie anp Lower Iraty, Siciny, 
AND SARDINIA. 


For these and all subsequent regions in our dis- 
cussion, the Nicene list ceases to be of any service ; 
all it furnishes is the bare fact that deputies from the 


380 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


bishop of Rome, bishop Hosius of Cordova (as the 
commissioner of Constantine), Bishop Marcus of 
Calabria (from Brindisi?), bishop Czecilian of Car- 
thage, and bishop Nicasius of Duja in Gaul (= Die), 
were present at the council. In place of it we get 
the episcopal lists of the synods of Carthage (under 
Cyprian), Elvira, Rome (313 a.p.), and Arles (314). 
The beginnings of Christianity in the Western towns 
(including Rome) and in the provinces are obscure 
throughout. 4 priori, we should conjecture that 
Rome took some part in the Christianizing of these 
regions, but beyond this conjecture we cannot go. 
The later legends which vouch for systematic mis- 
sionary enterprise on the part of the Roman bishops 
are unauthentic one and all. Some basis for them 
may have been found in the former passage in the 
epistle of Pope Innocent I. to bishop Decentius 
(ep. xxv. 2): “It is certain that throughout all Italy, 
Gaul, Spain, Africa, and Sicily, and the intervening 
islands, no one has founded any church except those 
appointed to the priesthood by the apostle Peter or his 
successors.” But this passage itself is a product of 
tendency, and destitute of historical foundation. 


In Rome and throughout Italy Christianity at 
first spread among the Greek population ' and retained 


1 One recollects Seneca’s remarks upon the population of Rome: 
“ Jube istos omnes ad nomen citari et unde domo quisque sit quaere ; 
videbis maiorem partem esse quae relictis sedibus suis venerit in 
maximam quidem et pulcherrimam urbem, non tamen suam” 
(«« Have them all summoned by name, and ask each his birthplace. 
You will find the majority have left their homes and come to the 
greatest and fairest of cities—yet a city which is not their own”), 


adv. Helv. 6. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 381 


Greek as its language. Even Hippolytus, who 
belonged to the Roman church and died c. 235 a.p., 
wrote nothing but Greek ; and the first author to em- 
ploy the Latin tongue, so far as I know, is the Roman 
bishop Victor (189-199). The episcopal list of the 
Roman church down to Victor contains only a couple 
of Latin names. When Polycarp of Smyrna reached 
Rome in 154, he conducted public worship there 
(2.e. in Greek), and it was in Greek that the old 
Roman symbol was composed (about the middle of 
the second century, or, as some hold, later). The 
Roman clergy did not become predominantly Latin 
till the episcopate of Fabian (shortly before the middle 
of the third century), and then it was that the church 
acquired her first Latin writer of importance in the 
indefatigable presbyter Novatian. Long ere this, of 
course, there had been a considerable Latin element in 
the church. Since the middle of the second century, 
there must have been worship in Latin at Rome as 
well as in Greek,’ necessitating ere long translation 
of the scriptures. But the origins of the Latin 
versions are wrapt in mystery. They may have 
commenced in Northern Africa earlier than in Rome 
itself. 

The church of Rome was founded by some un- 
known missionaries at the beginning of the apostolic 
age. It was already of considerable importance when 
Paul wrote to it from Corinth, comprising several 


1 According to the “Shepherd” of Hermas, the church still 
seems entirely Greek; at least the author never mentions bi- 
lingual worship, though he had the chance of doing so. Still, the 
Latin versions of his own book, of Clemens Romanus, and of the 
baptismal symbol, fall within the second century, 


382 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


small churches (ecclesiola, Rom. xvi.) ; and “ its faith 
was spoken of throughout all the world” (i. 8). By 
the time Paul himself reached Rome, there was even 
a small church “in Cesar’s household” (¢v Kaicapos 
oixia, Phil. iv. 22). Not long afterwards, when the 
Neronic persecution broke upon the church, an 
“ingens multitudo Christianorum” (Tacitus) or zodv 
arH00s exrextav (Clem. Rom. vi.) were resident in 
Rome. Allowing for the fact that the “crowd” is 
reckoned one way in the case of judicial murders and 
another way in that of popular assemblies, we may 
still find both of these calculations sufficiently weighty. 
The members of the church of Rome must at that 
time have been already counted by the hundreds. 
Paul and Peter both fell in this persecution. But 
the church soon recovered itself. We meet it in 
the epistle of Clement (about 95 a.p.), consolidated, 
active, and conscious of its obligation to care for all 
the church. The discipline of ‘‘ our troops ” presents 
itself to this church and the other churches as a 
pattern of conduct, uniting them together in the 
ranks and bond of Christian love. The “rule of 
tradition” is to be maintained by the church. Order, 
discipline, and obedience are to prevail, not fanaticism 
and wilfulness; every element of excited fervour 
seems to be tabooed. ‘The Christian church of 
Rome had in fact adopted even by this time the 
characteristics of the city, Greek though it was in 
nature; it felt itself to be the church of the world’s 
capital. And already it numbered among its 
members some of the emperor’s most intimate circle. 
This consciousness on the part of the Roman 
church, which was justified by the duties which it 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 383 


discharged, was recognized by other churches. 
Ignatius, the bishop of Antioch, extols it about 115 
A.D. in extravagant language as being the “leading 
church in the region of the Romans” (zpokca6yra ev 
tor» xwptov “Pwpyaiwy) and “the leader of love” (zpoxa- 
Onuévn THs ayarns (ad Rom., inscript.), whilst Dionysius 
of Corinth writes to her, about 170 a.p. (Eus., H.., 
iv. 13), in terms that have been already quoted (cp. 
vol. 1. pp. 222, 230). 

These passages imply that the church had ample 
means at her disposal,’ and this, again, suggests a large 
number of members, including many rich people— 
an inference corroborated by the “Shepherd” of 
Hermas, a Roman document which lets us see deep 
into the state of the church in Hadrian’s reign, 
revealing a very large number of Christians at Rome, 
and betraying the presence among them of a consider- 
able number of well-to-do and wealthy members, with 
whom the author is naturally wroth. The epistle of 
Ignatius also proves how the church had pushed its 
way into the most influential circles of the population. 
Why, the good bishop is actually afraid of being 
deprived of his martyrdom through the misguided 
intervention of the Roman Christians! It goes with- 
out saying that, under such circumstances, the needs 
of the Christian community at Rome could not be 
met by a single place of assembly. But Justin says 
so explicitly. When asked by the judge, ‘‘ Where do 
you meet ?” he replies, “‘ Where everyone chooses and 
wherever we can” [which is evasive]. “Think you 

1 We know, moreover, that Marcion brought her a present of 


200,000 sesterces when he joined her membership (cp. above, vol. i, 


p- 194). 


384 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


we can all meet in one place? Not so” (0a éacrw 
TT poatperts Kat Ovvapts eoTl, TAVTMS yap vouiCets ert TO avTo 
cuvepxer Ba yeas Tavras } ovxX ovTwsS dé), Still more valu- 
able is the testimony borne soon after 166 a.p. by the 
Roman bishop Soter, the author of the so-called 
second epistle of Clement. He observes, in con- 
nection with the saying of a prophet’ (c. u.), that 
Christians were already superior in numbers to the 
Jews; and although the statement is general, one 
must assume that, as it was written in Rome, it 
applied to Rome, and especially to middle and lower 
Italy. 

Thanks to the large number of Christians from all 
provinces and sects who continued to flock to Rome,” 
not merely did local Christianity go on increasing, 
but the church would have had the duty of caring for 
the interests of the church at large thrust on her, 
even had she not spontaneously borne it in mind. 
Besides, her position in the city grew stronger day 
by day. And in this connection the age of 
Commodus marked an epoch by itself. Eusebius 
relates (v. 21) how “our affairs then became more 
favourable, while the saving word led an uncommonly 
large number of souls of every race to the devout 
worship of God. In fact, a number of those who 
were eminent at Rome for their wealth and birth, 
began to adopt the way of salvation, with their 
whole households and families.” It is well known, 


1 He is explaining Isa. liv. 1, partly of the Jews, partly of the 
Christians ; and in this connection he observes, ¢pypos eddKen etvat 
ad Tov Peod 6 Aads Hpdv, vovi d& muoTEvoavTEs TEloves eyevoucla TOV 
doxovvTwv éxew Oedv (see above, p. 151). 

2 An almost complete survey is given by Caspari in his Quellen 2. 
Gesch. des Taufsymbols, vol. iii. (1875). 


CHRISTIANITY - DOWN TO 325 A.D. 385 


e.g., how much influence the Christians had with 
Marcia, the “devout concubine” (PAcGeos radXax7) 
of the emperor.’ The advance made by Christianity 
among the upper classes, and especially among 
women, in Rome, resulted in the edict of bishop 
Callistus,? which gave an ecclesiastical imprimatur 
to sexual unions between Christian ladies and their 
slaves. Furthermore, the importance attaching to 
Christianity in Rome is proved by a number of 
passages from Tertullian,’ from the attitude of the 
Roman bishops after Victor, and from the large 
number of sects which had churches in Rome at the 
beginning of the third century. Besides the Catholic 
churches, we know of a Montanist, a Theodotian (or 
Adoptian), a Modalist, a Marcionite, and several 
gnostic churches besides the church of Hippolytus. 
After the reign of Commodus and the episcopate 
of Victor, the reign of Philip the Arabian and the 
episcopate of Fabian (236-250) form the next stage 
in the story (cp. Protest. R.-Encyhklop., v. pp. 721 f.). 
Two structural features mark the growing size of the 
church at Rome. One is the creation of the lower 
clergy with their five orders, the other is the division 
of the Roman church into seven districts (or 7 x 2), 


1 Hippol., Philos.; ix. 12. The Roman bishop Victor went to and 
from her freely. One gathers from this passage also that the Roman 
church kept a list of all who languished in the mines of Sardinia. 

2 The statement of the papal catalogue about Callistus having 
built a church in Rome across the Tiber (“trans Tiberim”’) may be 
quite authentic. 

3 He writes, e.g., of the emperor Septimius: “Sed et clarissimas 
feminas et clarissimos viros, sciens huius sectae esse, non modo non 
laesit verum et testimonio exornavit” (ad Scap, iv.: cp.j above, 
p. 200). 


VOL. 11: 25 


2 


386 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


corresponding to the various quarters of the city 
(Catal. Liber: ‘“ Fabianus regiones divisit diaconi- 
bus”).! Two pieces of evidence throw light upon the 
extent and the importance of the church at this 
period (c. 250 A.D.) ; one is the saying of Decius that 
he would rather have a rival emperor in Rome than 
a bishop,” and the other is the statement of Cor- 
nelius, bishop of Rome, in a letter (Kus., vi. 43) to 
the effect that “there were 46 presbyters, 7 deacons, 
7 sub-deacons, 42 acolytes, 52 exorcists, readers, and 
doorkeepers, and 1500 widows and persons in distress, 
all of whom the Master’s grace and lovingkindness 
support ‘4 (pec Burépous TET TEpaKoVTa €&, Staxovous eTT A, 
UTroOLaKOVOUS eTTA, axoXovOous ovo Kal TETTEPAKOVTA, eLopxirTas 
O€ Kal avayvarras chyna TuAwpOLs Ovo Kat TEVTHKOVTG, X7pas ou 
OAL Bomévors UTED Tas XiALas mTevtakoclas, ove TavTas 4 TOU 
der7roTou Xapes Kau (prarOpwria Svat peer). 

So far as regards statistics, this passage is the most 
weighty which we possess for the church-history of 
the first three centuries. In 257 a.p. the Roman 


' Cp. Duchesne’s Le Liber Pontif., i. p. 148; and Harnack in 
Texte u. Unters., iv. 5. The entry in the papal list runs thus: 
“Hie regiones dividit diaconibus et fecit vii subdiacones,”— 
A propos of Clement I., the papal list had noted: ‘ Hie fecit vii 
regiones, dividit notariis fidelibus ecclesiae [sic], qui gestas martyrum 
sollicite et curiose unusquisque per regionem suam diligenter 
perquireret.” The statement, of course, is valueless. See further 
under “ Euarestus.” 

2 So we learn from Cyprian, ep. lv. 9. With this antithesis we 
may compare a remark of Aurelian, preserved by Flavius Vopiscus 
(Aurelian, c. xx.): “ Miror vos, patres sancti, tamdiu de aperiendis 
Sibyllinis dubitasse libris, proinde quasi in Christianorum ecclesia, 
non in templo deorum omnium tractaretis”’ (“I am astonished, holy 
father, that you have hesitated so long upon the question of opening 
the Sibylline books, just as if you were debating in the Christian 
assembly and not in the temple of all the gods’’). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 387 


church had evidently 155 clergy (with their bishop), 
who were maintained and fed, together with over 
1500 widows and needy persons. From this I should 
put the number of Christians belonging to the 
Catholic church in Rome at not less than 30,000.' 
The forty-six priests perhaps denote as many places 
of worship in the city; for, as we see from Optatus 
(ii. 4), there were over forty basilicas in Rome about 
the year 300 (“quadraginta et quod excurrit 
basilicas ”). This large number indicates the great 
size of the church. 

Shortly after Fabian, Dionysius (259-268) appar- 
ently constituted the class of parish churches in Rome, 
and at the same time determined the episcopal dioceses 
under the metropolitan see of the capital, the former 
task being completed by Marcellus (308/309). Such 
is Duchesne’s (op. cit., i. 157) correct reading of the 
statements in the papal list: “* Hic presbiteris ecclesias 


1 Probably this estimate is too low. At Antioch, as Chrysostom 
narrates (opp., vii. p. 658, 810), the 3000 persons in receipt of relief 
were members of one church consisting of over 100,000 souls. In 
the case of Rome, then, we might put the total at about 50,000, 
which is the estimate of Gibbon, followed by Friedlander. One may 
conjecture, however, that the readiness of Christians to make 
sacrifices was greater about 250 in Rome than it was about 380 in 
Antioch, so that I shall exercise caution and calculate only 30,000, 
which would amount—if one takes very roughly the population 
of Rome at 900,000—to about a thirtieth of the population. 
Friedlinder’s (Stttengesch., iii, p. 531) calculations bring out a 
twentieth (50,000 to a million). He may perhaps be right; at 
any rate the total about 250 a.p. lies somewhere between a 
twentieth and a thirtieth (from 5 to 3 per cent.). But between 
250 and 312 an extraordinary increase of Christianity certainly 
occurred everywhere, and at Rome as well, which I doubt not is to 
be reckoned at least as equivalent to a doubling of the previous total 
(from 10 to 7 per cent.). 


388 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


dedit et cymiteria et parrocias diocesis constituit,” 
and (p. 164) “hic fecit cymitertum Novellae via 
Salaria et xxv titulos in urbe Roma constituit, quasi 
diocesis, propter baptismum et paenitentiam multorum 
qui convertebantur ex paganis et propter sepulturas 
martyrum.” The parish churches of the city,’ to the 
number of twenty-five, are the churches inside the 
city with their respective districts. ‘The graveyards 
are the churchyards connected with the churches 
round about Rome (there being no rural parishes in 
the Roman church, and chor-episcopi being unknown 
in Italy). The “ parochiae diocesis” are the episcopal 
churches under the control of the metropolis; but 
unfortunately we know neither their number nor their 
names. 

The depth to which Christianity had struck its 
roots, even in the soil of culture, and the seriousness 
with which its doctrines rivalled those of the phil- 
osophers, may be seen from the discussions upon 
the dogmas of the various Christian parties in which 
Plotinus found it necessary to engage (cp. Carl 
Schmidt’s * Plotinus and his attitude to Gnosticism 
and the Christianity of the Church,” Texte u. Unters., 
N.F. v. 4). The Syrian ladies of the royal house, Alex- 
ander Severus, Philip the Arabian, and the consort 
of Gallienus, had already directed their attention to 
Christianity, while (as we have seen above, p. 284), 
Aurelian used the church as one basis for his Eastern 


1 T have no call to go into further details in regard to these 
churches, as we are destitute of any information upon their further 
statistics. But their large number is itself significant, The 
papal catalogue—erroneously, of course—makes Pope Cletus create 
twenty-four parishes each under a presbyter at Rome; then again 
we read of Euarestus, “ hic titulos in urbe Roma dividit presbiteris.” 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. = 389 


policy, and favoured that party in Antioch which held 
by the bishops of Rome and Italy. As for the 
brotherly feeling and wealth of the Roman Christians 
at this period, the best proof of these is to be found 
in their support of the churches in Syria and Arabia 
(cp. Dionysius in Eus., vii. 5). 

During the subsequent period we find the usurper 
Maxentius assuming the mask of friendliness towards 
Christianity at the beginning of his reign, “7 order 
to cajole the people of Rome.” Tf this statement is 
reliable (Kus., H.E., viii. 14), it proves that Christians 
must have formed a very considerable percentage of 
the population. It is contradicted, however, by the 
fact that Maxentius ere long relied on Roman 
paganism, and persecuted the Christians. Further- 
more, we gather from the measures taken by 
Constantine immediately after the rout of Maxentius, 
as well as from his donations, how much importance 
he attached to the Roman bishop; and lastly, the 
sixth canon of Nicwa informs us that the Roman 
bishop exercised unquestioned rights, as metropolitan 
or higher metropolitan, over a number even of the 
larger provinces. I consider it likely, though I 
cannot adduce the proof of it at this point, that the 
most of Middle as well as of Lower Italy (and Sicily ?) 
was subject to“his higher metropolitan jurisdiction." 

1 For the older controversies on this topic, see Hefele’s Concilien- 
Gesch., i. (Eng. trans., vol. i.). For the idea of the “ urbica dioce- 
sis,’ see especially the essay of Mommsen on “ The Italian Regions” 
in the Kiepert-Festschrift (1898), although it hardly covers the 
ecclesiastical conception. Let me explicitly observe that such terms 
as “metropolitan jurisdiction” or “higher metropolitan jurisdic- 
tion,’ cannot properly be used with reference to any of the Western 
provinces, for there was really no metropolitan class in the West 


390 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Such are perhaps the most weighty testimonies at 
our disposal in regard to the increase, the extent, and 
the importance of the Roman church. 

As for the other Italian cities, we have to bewail 
the silence of our sources, although one statement is 
extant which casts a ray of light upon the situation. 
Eusebius (vi. 43) tells how Cornelius,' the Roman 
bishop, held a synod of sixty (Italian) bishops in 
250/251 a.p. against Novatian. ‘This he quotes from 
a writing of Cornelius himself, and proceeds to affirm 
(from the same source) that in one most remote 
district of Italy (Spay te wépos Kat éedaxictov THs ItaXias, 
cp. vi. 43. 8) there were several bishops.” As not 
nearly all the bishops of a district ever attended 
any synod,’ we can hardly go wrong if we suppose 


before 325 a.p., as there was in the East. All that transpired was 
the accruing of certain powers to Rome (and Carthage) under the 
practical exigencies of the situation. We must think of these 
powers as in part less, in part greater, than those of the Oriental 
metropolitan centres, but in any case they were still indefinite—an 
indefiniteness which really told in favour of Rome down to the 
beginning of the fourth century. The Acts of a Roman synod held 
under Silvester describe its members as including 284 (Italian) 
bishops, 57 Egyptian bishops, 142 Roman priests, 6 deacons, 6 sub- 
deacons, 45 acolytes, 22 exorcists, and 90 readers from Rome, with 
14 notaries. But as the Acts are a forgery, these numbers are 
worthless. 

1 Who had not long ago been consecrated with the help of 
sixteen bishops (ep. Cypr., ep. lv. 24). 

* The story also shows that the Roman bishop’s metropolitan or 
higher metropolitan authority extended even this length. 

% A synod was held at Rome shortly before that of Cornelius, 
during the vacancy in the papacy. Novatian (Cypr., ep. xxx. 8), 
says of it: “ Nos... . et quidem multi et quidem cum quibusdam 
episcopis vicinis nobis et adpropinquantibus et quos ex aliis pro- 
vinciis longe positis persecutionis istius ardor eiecerat”’ (“We .. . .? 
in large numbers, and moreover with some neighbouring bishops 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 391 


that the higher metropolitan jurisdiction of Rome 
embraced not less than a hundred episcopates about 
250 a.p. From which it follows that the leading 
cities generally would almost ail have Christians 
within their walls.’ 

Churches can be traced in the following towns * :— 

Puteoli (Acts xxvii. 13 f.).? 

Naples (the catacombs render it probable that there 
were Christians here as early as the second century ; 
see also Liber Pontif., s.v. “Silvester.” The local. 
Jews must have been numerous from a very early 
period). 

Antium (Hippol., Phelos., ix. 12). 


[so that there must have been some in the adjoining towns] and 
some within reach, and some who had been driven away by the 
heat of that persecution from other provinces at a long distance’). 
It is remarkable that bishops, when forced to flee, made their way 
to Rome. 

1 The remark of the papal list (s.v. “Silvester” ; cp. Duchesne, 
pp. exxxv. f.), and other sources, to the effect that Silvester held a 
synod of 275 bishops, after the council of Nicaea, may be correct. 
But I pass over this point. It was not the same synod as that 


? 


mentioned above. 

2 Hermes (V7s., ii. 4) unfortunately does not name the “ outside 
cities ” (€£w 7éAevs) to which a certain booklet was to be sent. They 
need not have been in Italy. One of the teachers of Clem. Alex, 
stayed in Greece (Strom., i. 1; cp. Eus., v. 11). 

8 Nissen (Jtalische Landeskunde, II. i. (1902), p. 122), ranks 
Puteoli in the first class of Italian towns, with regard to the 
number of inhabitants. The evidence for Christians in Pompeii is 
unreliable, as also for the existence of local Jews. On the other 
hand, Puteoli had a strong community of Jews, and the Acta 
Petri vi. (Vercell.) presuppose the existence of local Christians, 

* A church must have been attached to the cemetery at Antium, 
over which Callistus was set by Zephyrinus.—Jews (ep. Schol. on 
Juy., Satir.,iv. 117 f.), but not Christians (despite the Acta Petri vi.), 
are to be traced at Aricia. 


392 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Portus (Hipp. ; Synod of Arles in 316 a.p.).’ 

Ostia (Synod of Rome?’ in 313 a.p.; Lib. Pontif., 
s.v. “ Silvester ”). 

Albano (Lib. Pontif., s.v. “ Silvester ”). 

Fundi (Lib. Pontif., s.v. «« Anteros ”). 

Amiternum, near Aquila (Teate u. Unters., xi. 2, 
p- 46). 

Aureus Mons, or some other locality in Picenum 
(tbid., pp. 47, 53). 

Tres Taberne (Synod of Rome, 313 4.D.). 

Sinna [Cesena ? Segni ?] (zbzd.). 

Quintianum (2bid.). 

Rimini (2dzd.). 

Florence (zbid.). 

Pisa (ebid.). 

Faénza (zbid.). 

Forum Claudii [Oriolo] (2b2d.). 

Capua: (zbid., Arles 316 A.p.; Lid. Ponti eam 
*< Silvester, ’ There was also a _ local Jewish 
community). 

Terracina (¢bid.; cp. Acta Pet. et Paul 12, and 
Acta Ner. et Achill.). 

Preenesté (2b7d.). 

Ursinum (zbid.). 

Beneventum (zid.). 

Syracuse (Cyprian;* Eus., 4.#., x. 5, 21; Arles, 
316 A.D.). 

1 For the signatures to the council of Arles, ep. Routh’s Relig. 
Sacr:"), iii. pp. 312 f. 

2 For the signatures to this synod (nineteen bishops), ep. Routh, 
pp. 280 f. 

8 The earliest proof of any Christian churches in Sicily is furnished 


by Cyprian’s thirtieth epistle, c. v., although the Christian catacombs 
may actually go back as far as the second century. This epistle 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 393 


Civita Vecchia (Arles, 316 A.D.). 

Civitas Arpiensium [in Apulia] (Arles, 316 a.D.). 

Cagliari (ebid.)." 

[Gaeta] (Acta Petri et Pauli 12). 

In the towns now to be mentioned, the existence 
of Christian churches (or bishoprics) is proved from 
martyrdoms and various notices. Such sources are 
not absolutely reliable in every case, but when one 
reflects that there were certainly about a hundred 
bishops in Italy circa 250 a.p., 1t becomes a priori 
probable, on this ground alone, that these towns 
had Christian churches in them. They are as 
follows :— 

Ancona. 

Aquila. 

Ascoli Pic. 

Assisi. 

Avellino. 

Baccano (Baccanas in Etruria). 

Bettona. 


informs us that during the Decian persecution letters were sent 
by the Roman clergy to Sicily. As Syracuse was certainly the 
capital of Sicily in the fourth century, there must have been a 
local church in existence about 250 a.p. Cp. Fiihrer’s Forsch. zur 
Sicilia Sotteranea (1897), pp. 170 f. Out of all the other Silician 
catacombs which Fiihrer has enumerated and described, there is 
not one which I would venture to assign to the pre-Constantine 
period, although Schultze (Archwol. Studien, 1880, pp. 123 f.) 
believes that he can deduce from the evidence of the monuments 
the existence of a Christian church at Syracuse by the second 
century, and even by the opening of that century. 

! For Christians in the mines of Sardinia, ep. Hipp., Phelos., ix. 
12; Catal. Liber., s.v. “ Pontian”; probably also, at an earlier 
date, Dionys. Cor., in Eus., H.E., iv. 23.—Eusebius, who became 
bishop of Vercelli in 340, came from Sardinia. 


394 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Catania.* 

Cume. 

Fano. 

Ferentino. 

Fermo. 

Girgenti. 

Hybla maior. 

Leontion. 

Lucca. 

Messina (so Acta Pauli et Petri 7). 
Nocera. 

Nola (the martyr Felix). 
Perugia. 

Salerno. 

Sipontum. 

Spoleto. 

Taormina. 

Teano. 

Terni. 

Todi. 

Trani. 

We can probably assume that a Christian church 


1 The Acta Felicis prove the existence of Christian churches in 
Girgenti, Catania (so, too, the Acta Euplij, Messina, and Taormina. 
Venosa, again, which is mentioned in these Acta also, appears to 
have contained no Christians, although this is not quite certain 
(it had a Jewish community). I have passed over the bishops (or 
bishoprics) mentioned in the Liber Predest., but as it is probable 
that ch. xvi. rests upon a sound, though misunderstood, tradition, 
and as it mentions bishop Eustachius of Lilybeum and Theodorus 
of Panormus, there is a certain probability of bishopries having 
existed in these places about the year 300, and of a Sicilian synod 
having been held about that time.—On the post-Constantine date 
of the Maltese catacombs in general, see Mayr, Rim. Quartalschrift, 
EY: iit, pp. 216£. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 395 


existed at Clusium (in Etruria), as the cemetery of 
S. Catherine appears to belong to the third century 
(see Bormann in Corp. Inscr. Lat., xi. pp. 403 f.) 

Lower Italy, as our survey shows, had unquestion- 
ably a larger number of Christian churches than 
Middle Italy. The state of matters which prevailed 
in the interior of Middle Italy, and in fact not very 
far from the coast, even as late as the opening of 
the sixth century, is revealed by the history of 
Benedict of Nursia. It is impossible to ascertain the 
exact number of bishoprics c7rca 325 a.D., or whether 
they had increased since 100 A.D. 


§ 15. Upper ITALY AND THE ROMAGNA. 


Not merely from negative evidence, but from the 
history of the church in these districts (which stood 
apart, however, in politics and culture) during the 
fourth and fifth centuries, is it rendered certain that 
Christianity entered them late and slowly, and that it 
was still scanty in the year 325 a.p.* As it passed 
from East to West in Upper Italy, Christianity must 
have fallen off and become more and more sparse. 
Before 325 we have no trustworthy account of any 


1 As I have already (pp. 64 f.) gone into it with some thorough- 
ness, I do not take up at this point the passage in Theodore of 
Mopsuestia’s commentary on the Pauline epistles (Swete, vol. ii. 
1882, pp. 121 f.). “In every province there were usually two, or at 
most three bishops, at first—a state of matters which prevailed 
till recently in most of the Western provinces, and which may 
be found still in one or two of them. As time went on, however, 
bishops were ordained not only in towns but also in small 
districts.” The fourth canon of Nicza presupposes that in none 
of the Eastern provinces were there fewer than four bishops. 





396 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Christians in Piedmont and Liguria." The sole 
exception is Genoa, and even that is doubtful. 
The first bishopric in Piedmont was not established 
till after the middle of the fourth century (cp. 
Savio’s Gli antichi vescovi d Italia. Il Piemonte, 
1898).2 

The eastern side of Upper Italy, however, can be 
shown to have possessed several bishoprics, from 
whose subsequent demeanour and position it is plain 
that their authority was derived (*auctoritas praesto 
erat”) hardly from Rome but from the Balkan 
peninsula. Ecclesiastically, it was a longer road from 
Rome to Ravenna and Aquileia than from Sirmium, 
Sardica, and Thessalonica. And this state of matters 


1 The statement of Sulpicius Severus (Chron., ii. 32) about the 
divine religion being received only at a later period on the other 
side of the Alps (“serius trans Alpes dei religione suscepta,” see 
below) may have also referred to the Maritime Alps. 

2 In his Kirchengeschichte Deutschlands, 1. (p. 26), Hauck believes 
he can prove from Ambros, epist. i. 63 that a number of the 
bishoprics in Upper Italy had not been long in existence by the 
time of Ambrose. I do not doubt this. Only I would not like to 
base it on the passage in question. Ambrose is writing to the church 
of Vercelli, and he proceeds: “I am consumed with grief, because 
the church of God in your midst has not a priest yet, it being the 
only one destitute of such an official in all Liguria or Amilia or 
Venetia or the rest of the lands bordering on Italy’’ (‘“ Conficior 
dolore, quia ecclesia domini, quae est in vobis, sacerdotem adhue 
non habet ac sola nunc ex omnibus Liguriae atque Aemiliae 
Venetiarumque vel ceteris finitimis partibus Italie huiusmodi 
eget officio).” | Hauck recalls, correctly enough, that the bishopric 
of Vercelli was several decades old when Ambrose wrote, so that 
“ adhue non habet”’ means simply a temporary vacancy, while he 
infers from “nune ex omnibus” that the bishoprics of all the 
Upper Italian churches were of recent origin. But, if “adhue 
non” merely denotes a temporary vacancy, one can hardly take 
what follows in a different sense, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. 397 


did not originate in the fourth century ; on the con- 
trary, it was not till then that, owing to the new 
political conditions of the age, the Roman church 
wielded an almost imperceptible influence over 
these towns and districts. The bishoprics were as 
follows :— 

Ravenna (its twelfth bishop was at  Sardica, 
343 A.D.). 

Mailand (synod of Rome, 313 a.p.; its seventh 
bishop was at Arles, 316 A.D.). 

Aquileia (synod of Arles). 

Brescia (its fifth bishop was at Sardica). 

Verona (its sixth bishop was at Sardica). 

Bologna (Mart. Vitals et Agricolae; see also 
Martyriol. Syriacum). 

Imola (Mart.). 

The evidence of martyrdoms is uncertain upon 
the existence of churches at Padua (though here the 
existence of a church is probable on a prior? grounds), 
Bergamo, Como, and Genoa.* 

The insignificance of the churches even in the 
larger towns of Upper Italy about the year 300, 
seems to me to be proved by a passage from 
Paulinus Mediol. (Vita Ambrosii 14), where we read 

1 St Martin of Tours, when a lad of ten (2.e., circa 326-329 a.p.), 
stayed at Pavia along with his father, who was an officer of high 
rank. As Sulpicius Severus (Vita Martini 2) remarks that “he fled 
to the church against his parents’ wishes, when a lad of ten, and 
demanded to be received as a catechumen” (‘‘cum esset annorum 
decem, invitis parentibus, ad ecclesiam fugit seque catechumenum 
fieri postulavit”’), it follows that there must have been a Christian 
church in those days at Pavia.—The first bishop of Padua of whom 
we possess reliable information falls in the reign of Constans. 


There is no trace of bishoprics at Como or Bergamo till the reign 
of Theodosius I. 





398 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


that “on the invitation of the Florentines, Ambrose 
travelled down as far as Tuscany . . . . and erected 
a basilica in the city, where he placed the remains of 
the martyrs Vitalis and Agricola, whose bodies he 
had exhumed in Bologna. For the bodies of the 
martyrs had been buried amongst the bodies of the 
Jews, nor was their location known to the saints, had 
not the holy martyrs revealed it to the priest” ( In- 
vitatus Ambrosius a Florentinis ad Tusciam usque 
descendit .... in eadem civitate basilicam con- 
stituit, in qua deposuit reliquias martyrum Vitalis et 
Agricolae, quorum corpora in Bononiensi civitate 
levaverat. posita enim erant corpora martyrum inter 
corpora Judaeorum, nec erat cognitum populo Chris- 
tiano, nisi se sancti martyres sacerdoti ipsi revelarent ”). 
The Christian community at Bologna would seem 
therefore to have been still so small at the time of the 
Diocletian persecution, that it had no church building 
of its own." 


1 [| must refrain from entering into any details upon the previous 
history of the church in the three great centres, Ravenna, Mailand, 
and Aquileia. The legends of Ravenna assign the eleventh and 
twelfth bishops a reign, between them, of 116 years, in order to 
run the twelve bishops (dating back from 348 a.p.) back to Peter. 
If the twelfth bishop of Ravenna attended the synod of Sardica, 
the local church may have been founded by the opening of the 
third century. In the early Byzantine period, Mailand claimed to 
have been founded by the apostle Barnabas, and consequently to be 
the only directly apostolic church in the West, besides Rome. This 
claim, however, is untenable. The fact of seven bishops having 
ruled till 316 a.p. suggests that the bishopric (and the church) was 
not founded long before the middle of the third century.—The 
founding of the church at the large town of Aquileia falls at a still 
later period, probably not until the Diocletian era, or shortly 
before it. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 399 


§ 16. GauL, BeLGium, GERMANY, AND RHA&TIA. 


On the shores of the Mediterranean and in the 
Rhone valley, where the Greek* population was in 
close touch with Asia, Christianity established itself® 
not later than about the middle of the second 
century. While the evidence as regards Marseilles, 
however, is only inferential’ (since the inscription 
which vouches for local Christianity cannot be 
assigned with absolute certainty to the second 
century), Vienna and Lyons are attested by the 
letter sent from the local Christians to the churches 
of Asia and Phrygia a propos of the persecution in 
177 a.p. (Eus., H.E., v. 1 f.), while Lyons‘ is visible 


1 On Hellenism in Southern Gaul, ep. Mommsen’s Rém. Gesch., 
v. pp. 100 f. (Eng. trans., i. 110 f.), Caspari’s Quellen zur Gesch. des 
Taufsymbols, vol. iii. (1875), and Zahn’s Gesch. des neutest. Kanons, 
i. pp. 39 f., 44 f At the opening of the fifth century, monasticism 
in the maritime districts of Southern Gaul was still in close touch 
with Eastern monasticism, forming in fact the last great proof of 
a living connection between that seaboard and the East. Even in 
the third century, however, Greek must have continued to be the 
language of educated people in Southern Gaul far more than Latin. 

2 For Christians in the valley of the Rhone, see Ireneus (I. xiii. 
7), who speaks of the vicious activity displayed by adherents of the 
gnostic Marcion: év rots Ka’ pas KXipnact THs “Podavovaias roAXds 
eénratyKace yovatcas (“In our own districts of the Rhone they have 
deluded many women’’). 

3 The church of Lyons could not have been Greek at all, unless 
Greek Christianity had existed at the estuary of the Rhone. 

4 On the peculiar political position of Lyons in Gaul, see 
Mommsen’s Rém. Geschichte, v. pp. 79 f. (Eng. trans., i. p. 87 f.). 
The percentage of inhabitants who spoke Greek in Lyons cannot 
have been large, as “unlike any other in Northern Gaul, and 
unlike the large majority of the Southern, it was founded from 
Italy, and was a Roman city, not only as regards its rights but in 
origin and character.” The local church, nevertheless, was still 
predominantly Greek czrca 190 a.p. 


400 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


during the last two decades of the second century 
through the works of Ireneus. From the former 
document we see that Lyons had a bishopric by 
177 a.p. Vienna was not far from Lyons, although 
it was in a different province (Narbonensis), but the 
relationship: disclosed by the epistle as subsisting 
between the two churches is obscure, and we may 
question, with Duchesne (fastes Gpiscopaux de 
lancienne Gaule, vol. i. 1894), whether Vienna had 
a bishop of its own at that date. This is not the 
place, however, to go into such a problem (see above, 
pp. 84 f.). Suffice it to say that it had a Christian 
community. I cannot accept the opinion that 
Vienna was quite untouched by the persecution 
(Neumann, der rdémische Staat und de allgem. Kirche, 
i. 1890, p. 29, note). 

All that can be ascertained with regard to the church- 
history of Lyons down to the days of Constantine 
has been carefully put together by Hirschfeld (“zur 
Geschichte des Christ. in Lugdunum vor Konstantin ” 
in the Sitzungsberichte d. K. Preuss. Akad. d. Wiss., 
1895, pp. 381 f.). I single out the following points. 

1. The church must have been predominantly 
Greek in the days of Ireneus. This follows from 
the Greek language of the letter and of the works 
of frenzeus, as well as from the names of those who 
perished in the persecution. Still, as these names 
indicate, a Latin element was not awanting either. 

2. The church cannot have been large; for, 
although the persecution was extremely severe, and 
although it affected the whole church, the number of 
the victims did not amount to more than forty-nine. 
Hirschfeld, who (op. cit., pp. 385 f.) has made an 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 40] 


accurate study of the list of their names, so far as 
these have been handed down, throws out the con- 
jecture, which is not unfounded, that the number 
was even smaller, inasmuch as the public name and 
the cognomen are probably separated, and_ thus 
individuals have been doubled. The paucity of the 
church members follows also from the fact that a 
list of the surviving adherents of the faith was in 
existence, even as late as Eusebius (though he has 
not reproduced it). At this point also one must 
recollect the general evidence as to the beginnings 
of Christianity in Gaul, which we possess, e.g., in 
Sulpicius Severus, Chron., ii. 32: “Sub Aurelio 
deinde, Antonini filio, persecutio quinta agitata; ac 
tune primum inter Gallias martyria visa, serius trans 
Alpes dei religione suscepta ” (“Then under Eusebius, 
the son of Antoninus, the fifth persecution broke out. 
And at last martyrdoms were seen in Gaul, the divine 
religion having been late of being accepted across 
the Alps”). In the Passio Saturnini (of Toulouse) 
we also reaad—*“ . . . . after the sound of the gospel 
stole out gradually and by degrees into all the earth, 
and the preaching of the apostles shone throughout 
our country with but a slow progress, since only a few 
churches in some of the states, and these thinly filled 
with Christians, stood up together for the faith” 
(“* Postquam sensim et gradatim in omnem terram 
evangeliorum sonus exivit tardoque progressu in 
regionibus nostris apostolorum praedicatio corus- 
cavit, cum rarae in aliquibus civitatibus ecclesiae 
paucorum Christianorum devotione consurgerent ”). 
We may reject, as totally untrustworthy, the state- 
ment made by Gregory of Tours (Hist. F'ranc., i. 29: 


VOL. Il. 26 


402 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


«“Treneus . . .. in modici temporis spatio praedica- 
tione sua maxime in integrum civitatem  reddidit 
Christianam ”), to the effect that ‘in a short space of 
time Ireneeus made the whole city Christian again by_ 

. U ” 
his preaching. 

3. Among several other unreliable data upon 
Christians in Lyons during the third century, the 
epitaph of a “ libellicus” falls to be noted (ze. of an 
official in charge of the “ libelli” during the reign of 
Decius? Hirschfeld, p. 397), as well as a certain 
bishop Helius of Lyons “tempore paganorum” 
(Gregor. Tours, Gloria Confess. 61). It is certain 
that during the age of Cyprian (ep. Ixvi. 1) Faus- 
tinus was bishop of Lyons, and that the synod of 
Arles (316 A.D.) was attended by a bishop from 
Lyons called Voccius (Vocius 4). 

Ireneus relates that he had to preach in Celtic,’ 
that there were churches é KéArow (I. x. 2), and that 
there were Christians among the Celts, who possessed 
the orthodox faith “without ink or paper.”’ The 
statement that his emissaries reached Valentia and 
Vesontio is perhaps trustworthy (see Hirschfeld, pp. 
393 f.), but we must certainly form modest ideas of 
the results of the Celtic mission during the third 

1 Contr. haer. pref., oi« emytyces tap yuav trav ev KédXrows 
dvatpiBovtrwy Kat rept BapBapov duadexrov TO weiorov aoxyoAoupevwv 
dywv TEXVYV. 

2 III. iv. 1: “ Cui ordinationi assentiunt multae gentes barbarorum 
[primarily Celts and Germans are in the writer's mind] eorum qui 
in Christum credunt, sive charta vel atramento scriptam habentes 
per spiritum in cordibus suis salutem et veterem traditionem dili- 
genter custodientes,’ etc. (“In agreement with which are many 
barbarian nations, who believe in Christ, having salvation written 


by the Spirit in their hearts, and not with ink or pen, who preserve, 
however, the ancient tradition with care’’). Small store is to be 


SURISTIANITY DOWN TO 325~A.D. 403 


century. What may be read in the Historia Fran- 
corum (ix. 3) as to the Western district, where the 
origins of Christianity do not fall earlier than the 
fourth century, holds true of many other parts of 
the country. But it is otherwise with the larger 
towns.' ‘These, however, owing to the _ peculiar 
constitution of the country, were not numerous, and 
only developed by degrees. As against Duchesne, 
I am unable to understand Eus., H.E., v. 23 (ep. 
above, pp. 76 f., 86 f.), except as meaning that when the 
Paschal controversy was raging, about the year 190, 
there were several bishoprics in Gaul (rev cara Paddiav 
TAPOLKLO”, as Eipnvaios ETLT TOPEl, ‘* parishes in Gaul 
superintended by Ireneus,” cp. v. 24. 11), and that 
their occupants held a synod at that period under 
the presidency of Ireneus. For these bishops we 
must look in the first instance to provincia Nar- 
bonensis, and the sixty-eighth epistle of Cyprian 
proves that about the year 255 a.p., at least, there 
was a bishopric at Arles. Rightly read, however, 
this epistle further teaches us that there was an 
episcopal synod held not only in the province of 
Narbonensis but also in that of Lyons, while c. 190 
A.D. they still seem to have formed a single synod. 
Hence it follows that several Gallic bishoprics, whose 


set by the passage in Tertullian’s adv. Jud. vii. (‘* Galliarum diversae 
nationes Christo subditae ” =“ different nations of Gaul, subjugated 
to Christ”). More weight attaches to Hippolytus, Philos., x. 34. 
From the passages in Irenzeus one gets the impression that he must 
have spoken more Celtic than Greek. 

! T leave aside the legends—e.g., that of seven bishops being sent 
from Rome to Gaul during the days of Pope Xystus II., with the 
consequent founding of the churches of Tours, Arles, Narbonne, 
Toulouse, Paris, Clermont, and Limoges. 


404 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


origin Duchesne would relegate to the second half of 
the third century, arose as early as the first half of 
that century, in fact even by the end of the second 
century. Ad priori, it is probable that at one time 
Lyons had the sole episcopal see in the provincia 
Lugdunensis and Belgica, although this cannot have 
lasted for very long. It is utterly improbable, 
however, that Lyons was always the bishopric for the 
provincia Narbonensis. 

Special notices of the Gallic bishoprics are first 
furnished by the lists of the synods of Rome (313) 
and Arles (316), as well as by a couple of martyrdoms. 
The following are indubitable :-— 

In Narbon.—Vienna (cp. the epistle, JZart., Arles). 
Arles (Marcian, the bishop in the days of Cyprian, 
was an adherent of Novatian; bishop Marinus 
attended the synod of Rome, cp. Eus., H.H., x. 5. 19; 
at the synod of Arles there were forty-three churches 
represented, from most of the Western provinces). 

Marseilles (Arles). 

Vaison (Arles). 

Nizza [Portus Nicanus] (Arles). 

Orange (Arles). 

Apt i eurles). 

Toulouse (Mart., also trustworthy inferences 
from later periods). | 

In Lugdun.—Lyons (cp. the epistle, Iren., Faus- 
tinus, who was bishop in the days of Cyprian, 
Arles). 

Autun (Eus., H.E., x. 5. 19; bishop Reticius 
at Rome, 313). 

Rouen (Arles). 

Dié (council of Nicza, 325). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 405 


Paris (Mart. ; also trustworthy inferences from 
later periods). 

Sens (Mart. ; also trustworthy inferences from 
later periods). 

In Aquitania.— Bordeaux (Arles). 

Eauze (Arles). 
Mendé (Arles). 
Bourges (Arles). 
In Belg.—Treves (Arles). 
Rheims (Arles). 

The investigations of Duchesne render it probable 
that there were Christians, but scarcely bishoprics,' 
during the pre-Constantine period in Angers, Aux- 
erre, Beauvais, Chalons, Chartres, Clermont, Digne, 
Embrun, Grenoble, Langres, Limoges, Metz, Nantes, 
Narbonne, Noyon, Orleans, Senlis, Soissons, Toul, 
Troyes, Verdun, and Viviers. Previous to Constans, 
Tours had no church (Greg., Hust. Mranc., x. 31). 
Were there martyrs in Amiens or Agen ? 

Eusebius declares that Constantine Chlorus did not 
destroy the church buildings in Gaul (AZ.E., viii. 13. 


' At the same time, if even a small town like Dié had a bishop 
in 325 (who may have been a personal friend of Constantine—for 
this is the only unforced explanation of the fact that he was the 
sole bishop from Gaul at the Nicene council), then we must 
assume that the episcopate was much more widely spread through- 
out Gaul than we are able to show in detail. By the days of 
Hilary of Poitiers (359 a.p.) the episcopal organization of the 
country had made great strides, but there is certainly plenty of 
time between 312 and 359 for the addition of many bishoprics, 
Important towns may have had Christian communities, without any 
bishops, for a long period of time, but one can scarcely appeal 
with much confidence in favour of this conjecture to the declara- 
tion made by bishop Proculus of Marseilles to the synod of Turin 
(in 401 a p.). In order to justify his claim to metropolitan rights 


406 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


13), so that there must have been buildings of this 
kind.  Lactantius, however (de mort. xv.), relates 
that he “allowed the churches, 7.e. mere walls which 
could be restored, to be demolished ” (** Conventicula, 
i.e. parietes, qui restitui poterant, dirui passus est ”). 
By the opening of the fourth century the church 
must have come to play a réle of its own in the 
towns of Southern Gaul. This is suggested by one 
consideration of a psychological nature. | Would 
Constantine, it may be asked, have deciared himself 
in favour of the church, if he had had always to live 
alongside an infinitesimally small Christendom during 
the years which he spent in Gaul’ immediately 
previous to his great change of front? I doubt it. 
The Oriental reminiscences of the church’s early size 
are insufficient. But, in any case, one must not 
immediately argue from its importance to its size, 
nor must one forget the necessity of carefully dis- 
tinguishing between the various towns (occasionally 
in process of transition from military encampments 
to actual towns’) and districts, especially between 
those of the north and of the south. Certainly in 


over Narb. II., he speaks of “‘easdem ecclesias vel suas parochias 
fuisse vel episcopos a se in iisdem ecclesiis ordinatos.’”’ We do not 
know where these parishes (“parochie’’) are to be sought; but 
they may have been small towns in the immediate vicinity of 
Marseilles. 

1 In earlier days a typically Gallic Christianity, such as that 
of Northern Africa, can hardly be said to have existed. Irenzeus 
is a Christian of Asia Minor, not of Latin Gaul, nor did the Gallic 
church, as a Latin church, produce any prominent figure till Hilary 
of Poitiers. Gallic rhetoric then made its way into the church, which 
it stamped with an impress of its own. 

2 On the cantonal divisions of Gaul, see Mommsen, op. cit., pp. 
81 f (Eng. trans., i. p. 90 f.). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 407 


Belgica the church was still in a very humble way 
about 300 a.p., as is plain from its most important 
town, ‘Treves, whose bishopric (first occupied by 
Eucharius and Valerius) was not founded till the 
second half of the third century. ‘Even by the 
opening of the fourth century, the number of members 
in this church was small. One little building sufficed 
for their worship down to 336 a.p., nor were steps 
taken towards the erection of a new edifice till 
Athanasius stayed there, during his banishment ” 
(Athan., Apol. ad Constant. 15; cp. Hauck’s KG. 
Deutschlands,1. p. 28). Treves does not seem to have 
got its second church till the beginning of the fifth 
century. During all the fourth century the town 
remained substantially pagan, and what was true of 
Treves was practically true of Gaul itself, apart from 
the south-west and the districts of the Rhone, to 
judge from the evidence furnished by the fourth 
and fifth centuries. A Christianizing movement 
upon a larger scale began during the second half of 
the fourth century, but it did not produce any far- 
reaching effects, nor was it till after the middle of the 
fifth century that Gaul, 2.c. its Roman _ population, 
became substantially Christian. Nay, about 400 a.p, 
the world of Gallic culture was still pagan first and 
foremost. All our witnesses for the period place this 
beyond dispute.t| The religion of the country no 
longer presented any serious obstacle to the church ; 
but the Celtic element was overcome by Latin 
Christianity rather than by the German immigration 
(Mommsen, p. 92; Eng. trans., 1. p. 103 f.). 

1 For the overthrow of paganism in Gaul, see Schultze, op. cit., 
ii. pp. 101 f. 


408 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


The church-history of Germany begins with the 
well-known statement of Irenzus, i. 10 (ote af ev 
Tepuavias id pumevae exkAnolat GA\Aws TeTieTevKacW 4 GAAwS 
mapadwoarw): ‘Nor were the faith and tradition of 
the churches planted in Germany at all different.” 
Ireneus obviously refers to stable, z.c. episcopal 
churches, for only such churches could hand down 
any traditions ; so that it is certain that in the largest 
Roman towns of Germany (of which Cologne and 
Mainz occur immediately to our minds), there 
were Christian communities and bishops as early as 
the year 185 a.p. Unluckily all other evidence fails 
us at this point, nor are the episcopal lists of any 
value in this connection. All we know is that the 
bishop of Cologne was at Rome (in 313 a.p.; ep. 
Kus., x. 5. 19) and at Arles’ (316. .p.).\,. Yetohom 
small must the church have been, if even by 355 a.p. it 
had no more than one “little conventicle” (‘* con- 
venticulum,” Amm. Marc., xv. 5. 31).? This of itself 


! Maternus, bishop of Cologne, must have been Constantine’s 
special confidential adviser, for it was he who, together with the 
bishops of Rome, Arles, and Autun, was entrusted with the pre- 
liminary investigation into the Donatist question. But the bishop's 
personal importance is not decisive for the size of his episcopate. 
From Theodos., Cod., xvi. 8. 3, we find that there was a synagogue 
also at Cologne in the reign of Constantine. 

? Even the notices of martyrs in Germany (at Cologne and Treves) 
are quite uncertain, if not absolutely untrustworthy. Hauck (op. 
cit., p. 25) considers that only the account of Clematius at Cologne 
can be termed even “fairly authentic.” It describes (fourth 
century or fifth) the spot ‘where the holy virgins shed their blood 
for the name of Christ (‘‘ubi sanctae virgines pro nomine Christi 
sanguinem suum fuderunt”). It also mentions an old basilica, or 
memorial chapel, perhaps built in honour of these virgins during the 
reign of Constantine, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 409 


is enough to show that Christianity was an extremely 
weak plant throughout all Germany. 

-In Lower Germany, Tongern may still be claimed 
perhaps as a pre-Constantine bishopric; at any rate, 
not long after Constantine, the town had a bishop, 
Servatius, who is known from his connection with the 
Arian controversy. In Upper Germany there is no 
evidence of any bishopric or church before Constan- 
tine; but as it lay much nearer to Lyons than to 
Lower Germany, it is not necessary perhaps to 
restrict the range of Irenzus’s statement to the latter 
district (cp. the instance of Vesontio, already noted).' 
The earliest evidence for a church at Mainz occurs in 
368 a.D., when the greater part of the inhabitants were 
already Christians (Amm. Marc., xxvu. 10). Jerome 
(ep. exxill. 16) explains how (‘ multa milia hominum ”) 
“many thousands of people” were slain zn the church, 
when the city was sacked by the Germans. This 
occurred, however, at the opening of the fifth century. 


As for Rheetia, we can trace Christian churches at 
Augsburg and Regensburg before Constantine; for 
the personality of St Afra the martyr is beyond 
doubt, and graves of martyrs have been discovered 


at Regensburg (cp. Hauck, p. 347). Beyond this, 
however, no sure footing is possible.’ 


! Tertullian mentions Christians among the Germans (adv. Jud. 
vii.), but the rhetorical nature of the passage renders it untrust- 
worthy as a piece of evidence. 

2 In the great enumeration of the ecclesiastical provinces given 
by Athanasius (Apol. c. Arian. i.), Germany is never mentioned, 
although even Britain is included. This is the less accidental, as 
Germany is also passed over in the similar enumeration of Vita 
Const., iii. 19, where both Gaul and Britain are named. So still in 
Optatus, de schism., ii, 1 and iii. 9. For Origen, see above, p. 160. 


410 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


§ 17. ENGLAND. 


At first Christianity could not gain any firm 
footing‘ in this province, which was really a military 
province and only veneered with Roman influence.’ 
Tertullian’s notice (in adv. Jud. vii.) is of no 
consequence, and still less weight attaches to the 
legend of a correspondence between the Roman 
bishop Eleutherus and an alleged king of Britain 
called Lucius* (Lib. Pontif., also Bede’s Hist. Angl., 
i. 4). Still it is quite possible that Christians had 
arrived in Britain and laboured there by the end of 
the second century. We may assume that the 
accounts given by Gildas and Bede of the martyrs 
Alban in Verulam (St Albans) and two others in 
Legionum Urbs (Czrleon)—during the Diocletian 
persecution—rest on some reliable tradition.* But 
the British church emerges into daylight first of all 


1 Karly Christian inscriptions are totally lacking. 
2 «The language and customs that penetrated thither from Italy 
remained an exotic growth in the island even more than upon the 
continent’ (Mommsen, op. cit., v. p. 176; Eng. trans., i. 193). 

3 Lucius is Lucius Abgar of Edessa, and his British kingship is 
due to a confusion (see my study in the Stéz. d. Preuss. Akad. d., 
Wiss., 1904, pp. 909 f.).—Origen presupposes the presence of 
Christians in Britain (Hom. IV. in Ezek., tom. 14, p. 59). 

4 The utter silence of our sources upon the church-history of 
Britain during the third century is perhaps intelligible. “ Hardly 
anything is told us about the fortunes of the island, from the 
third century’? (Mommsen, p. 172; Eng. trans., i. 189).—The 
martyrdom of Alban cannot be pronounced quite authentic, as the 
oldest sources declare that no martyrdoms occurred during the 
reign of Constantius Chlorus. Still, this statement does not pre- 
clude the occurrence of one or two. Even previous to Gildas 
(circa 430 a.p.), relics of the saint can be shown to have existed. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 411 


through the fact of three bishops," from London, 


York, and Lincoln (though the name of this locality 
is uncertain), having attended the synod of Arles in 
316 a.p. ‘Two of these bishops bear classical names, 
but the third is indigenous (Eborius). | If three 
bishops from Britain were present at Arles, we are 
justified in concluding that the number of British 
bishoprics was more numerous still. Only, we know 
nothing whatever on this point. All we do know is 
that Britain was rapidly Christianized in the course 
of the fourth century,” when the native population 
became practically Christian, while the tribes of 
Germany continued to remain almost entirely pagan. 


§ 18. Arrica, Numrpra, MAuRETANIA, AND 
TRIPOLITANA.” 


The strip of coast lying between the sea and the 
mountain-range upon the southern coast of the 
western Mediterranean belongs to Europe, not to 
Africa. During the imperial age, the most import- 


1 In accordance with the division of the country into shires, the 
Latin towns of Britain rose as gradually as those of Gaul. York 
was the headquarters of the army, while Camalodunum probably 
formed the civil capital. It is noticeable that no trace of a bishop 
can be found at the former town or at the trading centre of London, 
until a comparatively late period. 

? It is perhaps worthy of notice that, when the synod of Rimini 
met, with an attendance of over four hundred bishops, three British 
bishops alone accepted the imperial provision for the upkeep of 
members (Sulpic. Sever., Chron., ii. 41: “ Inopia proprii publico usi 
sunt” = they availed themselves of the public fund, owing to lack 
of private means—which appeared unbecoming, “indecens,” to 
their fellow bishops). This implies that the churches were still 
poor. 

3 See Leclereq, / Afrique chrétienne (Paris, 1904). 


412 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


ant province in this part, ze. Africa proconsularis, 
was a second Italy. ‘The country reached its zenith 
of prosperity between the end of the second and the 
close of the third century. * 
During this period, when the Romanizing of the 
country cunde its greatest advances,’ the Christian 
church attained a growth within this wide and fruit- 
ful province which was only paralleled in Asia Minor. 
But previously to this, the church of Carthage, which 
is the earliest of the great Latin churches, must have 
been of importance, ere ever it emerges into the light 
of history. The early writings of Tertullian pre- 
suppose a large church in the capital as well as the 
extension of Christianity throughout Northern A frica.® 
But one thing surprises us, and it is this. Tertullian 
tells us next to nothing of the early history of the 


1 Many natives even of the better classes still spoke Latin with 
reluctance in the second century; cp. Apuleius, Apol. Ixviii. (of a 
young man), “ Loquitur numquam nisi punice, et si quid adhuc 
amatre graecissat; enim Latine neque vult neque potest” (“ He 
never speaks anything but Punic or a smattering of Greek picked 
up from his mother; Latin he neither can nor will attempt’’). The 
language of educated people, with which the superimposed Latin 
of these North African provinces had to reckon, was Greek. The 
* suaviludii,’ or lovers of the play, at Carthage in Tertullian’s day 
(ep. de corona vi.), preferred to read Greek rather than Latin, and 
for their benefit Tertullian wrote his de spectaculis in Greek (see 
Zahn’s Gesch. des neutest. Kanons, i. p. 49). The Barbary vernac- 
ular had been long ago displaced from public usage by the Punie 
inhabitants. It waned still further under the Roman régime, 
though it still survived in the intercourse of foreign rulers. On 
the Latinizing of Africa by means of the settlement of Italian 
colonists in the country, see Mommsen’s Rém. Gesch., v. p. 647 
(Eng. trans., ii. 332 f.). 

2 Particular account must be taken of ad Scap. ii. v.: “Tanta 
hominum multitudo, pars paene maior civitatis cuiusque” (“Such 
are our numbers, amounting almost to a majority of the citizens 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN 'TO’S25 A.D: 418 


Carthaginian church, and as little of the other 
churches in Africa—even of their contemporary 
history indeed. For Tertullian remained the citizen 
of a great city, even when he became a Christian. 
The country was no concern of his; and, besides, 
he lived wholly in the present and the future. 
Nothing is known to us of the primitive Greek 
period of the African church. We learn, however, 
that Perpetua conversed in Greek with bishop 
Optatus and the presbyter Aspasius, while Tertullian 
also wrote in Greek as weil as in Latin. The Greek 
versions of the primitive Acts of the African martyrs 
may be almost as old as the Acts themselves,' and it 
is with martyrdoms, primarily in the year 180, that 
the church-history of Northern Africa commences. 
At that period Namphano of Madaura and several 


in every city”): “Tanta milia hominum, tot viri ac feminae omnis 
sexus, omnis aetatis, omnis dignitatis” (“So many thousands of 
people, so many men and women, people of both sexes, of every 
age, of every rank’’): “ Quid ipsa Carthago passura est, decimanda 
ate” (“What will Carthage herself suffer, if you must decimate her?’’): 
“ Parce Carthagini, si non tibi, parce provinciae, quae visa intentione 
tua obnoxia facta est concussionibus’’ (“ Have mercy on Carthage, 
if not on yourself; have mercy on the province which, by the 
disclosure of your purpose, has been rendered liable to acts of 
extortion’’). Similar remarks occur even in his earlier (circa 197 
A.D.) Apology ; ep chaps. ii. and xxxvii.Unfortunately, we have not 
the slightest information upon the relations subsisting between 
primitive African Christianity and the innumerable synagogues of 
the country. 

1 From its very foundation, a special tie must have continued to 
exist between the African church and that of Rome (Tertull., de 
praescr. xxxvi.: “ Roma unde nobis quoque auctoritas praesto est” = 
Rome, whence we too derive this our authority), but we know no 
details of this, and it does not necessarily follow that Roman 
Christians brought the gospel to Africa. The relations of the 
church with Jerusalem, which Augustine affirms, are abstract. 


414 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Christians from Sciltum (a town which must have 
been situated in proconsular Numidia) were all put 
to death.t We have thus evidence for Christians in 
Numidia as early as for Christians in Carthage. “The 
works of Tertullian prove the existence of Christian 
churches in four towns of Africa, and only four, 
viz., Hadrumetum, Thysdrus, Lambzesa, and Uthina. 
All of these were places of importance, Lambeesa in 
Numidia being the chief military depot in Africa.” 
As Hadrumetum and Thysdrus lay in Byzacium (ad 
Scap. iii.-iv.), the latter province must also have 
contained Christians by this time. And even in 
Mauretania they were to be found, for Tertullian 
(op. cit. 1v.) mentions a bloody persecution of the 
local Christians by the governor of Mauretania. We 
have his testimony, therefore, to the existence of 
Christians in Numidia,? Byzacium, and Mauretania.‘ 


1 From the Vita Cypriani per Pontium (i., cp. xix.) it follows that 
no cleric was martyred at all in Africa, previous to Cyprian, i.e. to 
258 a.p. This is extremely remarkable. The clergy knew how 
to live on good terms with the authorities, as is plain from the 
bitter complaints about the “deer-footed”’ clergy and their method 
of evading a threatening persecution by means of bribery (Tert., 
de fuga in persecut.). Tertullian’s treatise ad Martyres shows that 
up till the date of its composition there had been very few 
martyrs in Africa. He refers not to early Christian martyrs, but 
to Lucretia, Regulus, ete. 

” Lambesa is meant in ad Scap. iv. (“ Nam et nunc a praeside 
Legionis vexatur hoc nomen” = for even at present our Name is 
being harried by the governor of Legio). 

* Cp. also the story of Vespronius Candidus in ad Scap. iv ; he 
was “legatus Augusti pro praetore” in Numidia (CJL, vol. 
viii. n. 8782). 

* The existence of quite a number of bishops in Africa as early 
as 200 a.p. is proved by the passage in de ‘fuga xi., which speaks 
of bishops who had fled during the persecution. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 415 


We have no information upon the strength of the 
Punic element in the church about the year 200 or 
during the course of the third century. ‘Tertullian 
and Cyprian tell us practically nothing about it, and 
we might suppose it did not exist at all. But in the 
fourth century (cp. especially the writings of Augus- 
tine) its strength is patent; both bishops and _ parish 
priests had to know Punic in those days. We can 
quite imagine how the Punic population inclined less 
rapidly to Christianity than the Greco- Latin incomers, 
and how it remained decidedly retrograde even in the 
third century, during which period the names of the 
African bishops are almost entirely Latin. Yet from 
the very outset the Punic element was never quite 
absent. Punic names occur, ¢.g., among the martyrs, 
and in fact the first African martyr, Namphano, was 
of Punic birth. On the other hand, no Punic version 
of the Bible, so far as we know, was ever essayed— 
implying that the Christianizing of the Punic popula- 
tion meant at the same time their Romanizing.* 

The Latin Bible originated in Africa probably at 
an earlier period than in Rome, and Africa formed 
the motherland of Latin Christian literature. In 
this sense the country possesses a significance for the 
history of the world. 

The strong military element in the vocabulary of 
the African church is also one feature which deserves 
close attention. It can be verified as early as 
Tertullian, who was a soldier’s son. But it is far more 


1 On the Punic element in the African church, see Zahn’s Gesch. 
des Neutest. Kanons, i. pp. 40 f. For the benefit of Christians who 
knew nothing but Punic, the Bible was translated during worship, 
and there was also preaching in Punic. 


416 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


surprising to find how prominent it is in the religious 
dialect of Cyprian, which became authoritative after- 
wards. Was this element accidental, we may ask? 
or are we to suppose that relations were established 
at an early date between Christianity and the military 
camps in Africa? The very juristic element is not 
simply to be referred to Tertullian’s influence; for it 
is clear that the ecclesiastical dialect which grew up 
in Africa was the work of immigrant officials and 
soldiers, in so far as it was not vernacular. 

Between 211 and 249 (Cyprian) we-can discover 
that a large increase in Christianity took place at 
Carthage and throughout all the African provinces. 
Then it was that “so many thousands of heretics ” 
(‘tot milia hereticorum,” Cypr., epist. lxxil. 3) were 
brought over to the church. Even at the synod of 
Carthage held under Agrippinus (not later than 
218-222 a.p.) to discuss the validity of heretical 
baptism, there were seventy African and Numidian’ 
bishops present,” while ninety bishops attended® a 
synod at Lambesa,* presided over by Cyprian’s 


1 T do not enter into the question of the political and ecclesiastical 
divisions of Africa, for which one must refer to the investigations 
of Mommsen and Schwarze (Unters. tiber die Gussere Entwickelung der 
A frikanischer Kirche, 1892). There were synods for the separate pro- 
vinces (though we do not know when these originated), and a general 
synod. The position of Carthage is quite plain from Cypr., ep. xlviii. 3: 
“Quoniam latius fusa est nostra provincia, habet etiam Numidiam et 
Mauretaniam sibi cohaerentes” = Since our province has extended 
more widely, it has also Numidia and Mauretania within its sweep). 

2 Augustine, de unico bapt. c. Petil. xiii. (xxii.); ep. Cypr., ep. xxi. 

3 It is not certain whether they were entirely Numidian. 

4 The passage may be read, however, in such a way as to leave 
the place of meeting an open question. In that case there were 
deliberations conducted also at Carthage. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 417 


(ep. lix. 10) predecessor Donatus (“ante multos 
fere annos,” says Cyprian, 2.e. certainly not later 
than 240 a.p.). Unfortunately we do not possess 
any lists of these two synods; but, when one bears 
in mind the well-known fact that only a certain 
proportion of bishops attended synods as a rule, the 
above numbers enable us to infer that a remarkable 
expansion of the church had occurred by the middle 
of the third century, although one must never forget 
that the organization of the church in Northern Africa 
evidently demanded a bishopric even when there were 
but a few Christians, 7.c. in every township. In 
Africa the episcopal organization was still more 
thoroughly worked out than in Asia Minor or Lower 
Italy. Of detached presbyters and deacons we hear 
not a syllable; even from Cyprian’s ep. lxii. 5 it is 
not necessary to infer that such functionaries were 
in existence.’ 


1 The episcopal organization in Africa was one result of the 
municipal organization of Northern Africa which was derived from 
the Pheenicians. “When the Roman rule began in Africa, the 
C. territory then consisted in the main of urban communities, for 
the most part small in size, of which there were counted three 
hundred, each administered by its suffetes; in this matter the 
republic did not introduce any change”’ (Mommsen, Rém. Gesch., 
v. p. 644; Eng. trans., ii. 329; on the transformation of this 
organization in Italian towns, see pp. 640 f.; Eng. trans., ii. pp. 
332 f.). Among other reasons why the church failed to root 
itself among the Berbers, we may, perhaps, include this, that these 
tribes held chiefly to the hills and steppes and lacked any municipal 
arrangements ; they simply formed unions of natives, directly con- 
trolled by the suzerainty of the provincial governors. Such conditions 
rendered any Christianizing process almost out of the question. It 
was only in certain Celtic provinces, such as Ireland, that the church 
surmounted this obstacle, and not until she had acquired in monas- 
ticism a fresh and more opportune instrument for her propaganda. 

VoL. Il. 27 


418 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


From the writings and correspondence of Cyprian 
we can see quite clearly the size of the Carthaginian 
church and the graduated order of the local clergy,’ 
as well as the diffusion of Christianity throughout the 
provinces. His treatise de lapsis shows that during 
the previous thirty years the new religion had become 
naturalized and secularized in the capital as a “ religio 
licita,” spreading through all ranks and classes. The 
victims of the Decian persecution, 7.e. those who 
succumbed by renouncing their faith, must have 
counted by the thousand. But above all, the per- 
sonality of Cyprian himself shows the importance 
which already attached to a bishop of Carthage. 
Read his letters and his martyrdom, and you get the 
impression that: here was a man who enjoyed the 
repute, and wielded the authority, of a provincial 
governor (‘“ praeses provinciae”). He is certainly not 
a whit inferior to Paul of Samosata (see above, 
pp. 190, 281 f.). We can readily credit his statement 
(ep. Ixvi. 5: “novus credentium populus” =a new 
host of believers) that numerous pagans were 
won over to Christianity under his episcopal rule. 
But unfortunately we are ignorant of the circum- 
stances which operated in order to render Christianity 
in Africa so effective. And such circumstances there 
must have been. Cyprian’s personality, eminent as 
he was, constituted but a single factor in the Chris- 
tianizing process.” 

1 Though not to the same extent as in Rome. It held true, 
even within the Christian church, that “ Rome must take precedence 
of Carthage, in virtue of her size” (“pro magnitudine sua debet 
Carthaginem Roma praecedere,”’ ep. lii. 3). 


2 Still the central position in Christendom held by Carthage 
about the middle of the third century is entirely due to Cyprian, 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. 419 


For statistical purposes Cyprian’s writings are of 
little service. According to ep. lxu. 5, he forwarded, 
along with his letter to some Numidian churches 
which had been laid waste by brigands, a list of all 
those members of the Carthaginian church who had 
contributed the large sum of a hundred thousand 
sesterces as ransom money [see above, vol. i., pp. 
194, 205, 231 f.], but unluckily this list has not been 
engrossed along with the letter, so that we do not 
possess it.' According to ep. lix. 9, he furnished 
Cornelius of Rome with a list of all the African 
bishops who had kept aloof from the Novatian 
schism. But this list also has been lost. No item 
can be learned from the notices of the African synods 
which were held before the great synod upon heretical 
baptism. It is not instructive to be told that an 


who corresponded with bishops in Rome, Spain, Gaul, and Cappa- 
docia, and took pains to bring his letters upon the question of 
apostates “to the notice of all the churches and all the brethren ”’ 
(“in notitiam ecclesiis omnibus et universis fratribus,” ep. lv. 5). 
He governed the churches of Northern Africa from the Syrtes to 
Mauretania. 

1 Uhlhorn (die christ. Liebestitigkeit in der alten Kirche, p. 153; 
Eng. trans., p. 158) writes thus: “The Carthaginian church 
cannot as yet [7.e. in the days of Cyprian] have been large. Cyprian 
remarks in passing that he knew every member of it—which 
proves that at most it amounted to three or four thousand souls.” 
Uhlhorn has ep. xli. 4 in view, but we cannot possibly infer from 
this passage that Cyprian knew all the members of the church. 
In my opinion, three or four thousand is too low an estimate. The 
passages upon the persecution, as well as others (including those 
upon the heretics), give one the impression that Uhlhorn’s estimate 
is put too low, even were one to regard it as equivalent to the 
number of independent males, in which case it would need to be 
trebled or quadrupled. Still, Uhlhorn is right in pointing out that, 
to judge from the letters of Cyprian, the Carthaginian church 
cannot have numbered its members by tens of thousands, 


420 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


bb) 


“ample number of bishops ” (‘‘ copiosus episcoporum 
numerus”’), 2.¢. 42, 66, 37, 31 (from the proconsular 
province ; 18 Numidian bishops are enumerated), and 
71 attended these gatherings. On the other hand, 
great importance attaches to the protocol which we 
possess in Cyprian’s works upon the synod of 256 
or 257 a.p. (on the subject of heretical baptism). 
Here the votes of 87 bishops are verbally reported, 
and the sites of their bishoprics are given. At a 
single stroke we are thus informed of a large number 
of bishoprics which were in existence previous to 
256-257. No doubt, a not inconsiderable proportion 
of these have not yet been identified, despite the 
remarkable advances made by investigators of Africa 
under the Romans. Still the majority can be identi- 
fied, with the aid of the later councils, the Corpus 
Inscript. Lat. (vol. viii.),and the investigations of Tissot 
and others (see below). Buishoprics already existed in 
all parts of Northern Africa (four, e.g., in Tripolitana), 
the greater number being in the northern proconsular 
province, and fewest, as one might expect, in Maure- 
tania," while Numidia reveals quite a considerable 
number.” We are justified also in assuming that this 
great African council was attended by the majority 


1 See the Acts of the martyred Typasius Veteranus (Anal. Boll., 
1890, p. 116), which belong to Cicaba Mauret., and open with these 
words: “In temporibus Diocletiani et Maximiani imperatorum 
parva adhue christianitatis religio fuit” (“In the days of the 
emperors Diocletian and Maximian, the Christian religion was still 
a small thing”’). 

2 Numidia proconsularis and Numidia itself, when put together, 
seem to have embraced hardly fewer bishoprics than Africa pro- 
consularis (z.e. Zeugit. and Byzacium together). As we should 
expect a priori, the majority of the bishoprics which have been 
identified lie on the main routes. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 421 


of the bishops in these provinces who were favour- 
able to Cyprian, unless special circumstances prevented 
them from putting in an appearance. Those 
favourable to heretical baptism naturally absented 
themselves, and we do not know how strong they 
were.' But they were certainly not in the majority. 
As for the total number of African bishops in the 
days of Cyprian, we can hardly put that, I should 
think, above a hundred and fifty.’ 

It is unfortunate that the Christian inscriptions of 
Africa, which in many respects are so unique and 
valuable, afford an extremely small amount of reliable 
material for the pre-Constantine age. As a rule they 
are almost entirely undated, and consequently almost 
entirely useless for our present purpose. The 
numerous inscriptions of the martyrs were almost 
without exception the work of a later age, and in 
general they testify, not that a martyr suffered in such 
and such a place, but that he was reverenced there, or 
that his relics had been brought thither. To work 
through the material furnished by the Christian 
inscriptions of Africa, therefore, yields little or 
nothing for the third century, although the results are 
so important for the fourth and fifth and sixth. As 
for the African Acts and accounts of the martyrs, they 
present a hard problem. <Any tenable results will be 
found collected at the close of our list of African towns. 


1 Cyprian merely speaks of “ episcopi plurimi ex provincia Africa, 
Numidia, Mauretania,” im his introduction. 

2 In the vicinity of Carthage there were a number of towns which 
sent no bishop to the council, but which nevertheless are not to be 
considered as having lacked a bishop. We may therefore conjecture 
that such bishops were opposed to Cyprian on the question of 


heretical baptism. 


422 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Between the reign of Gallienus and the year 303, 
the church of Africa must have increased by a process 
of geometrical progression.’ The fragments of the 
Donatist Acts, relating to the earliest phase of the 
schism, almost give us the impression that Christi- 
anity had already become the religion of Northern 
Africa, and this impression is corroborated by an epistle 
of Constantine (in Eus., H.#., x. 5), in which these 
‘densely populated” provinces appear to be ranked 
as Christian. Moreover, if one considers (after, the 
Gesta apud Zenophilum) the clergy and ecclesiastical 
treasures of Thamugadi or the clergy of Cirta,’ the 
verdict will be that the triumph of the church in 
Africa was imminent, owing to the internal develop- 
ment of the situation as well as to other causes. The 
Diocletian persecution only. lasted two full years, 
though it certainly cost the church the loss of many 
martyrs and apostates (Eusebius himself, in far-off 
Cesarea, bears in mind the martyrs in Africa and 
Mauretania; H.E., x. 5). Once it was over, back 
flowed the crowd of apostates. And the Donatist 
movement shows most plainly the extent to which 
the new religion had permeated the people, and even 


1 Several churches in Cyprian’s day were certainly still in 
extreme poverty, or very insignificant. Why, Cyprian deems it 
possible, and in fact likely, that the church in one town will be 
unable to furnish the minimum living wage to support a Christian 
(a teacher of the dramatic art, who was to abandon his profession) ! 
The town is not named, but its bishop is called Eucratius; and a 
certain bishop of Thenz, called Eucratius, occurs among the bishops 
of the Sentent. lxxvavit. episcoporum. So perhaps it is Thenz which 
had so poor and small a church. 

2 Basilicas had been erected by this time in towns like Zama and 
Furni (deta Purgat, Felic. iv.). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. = 423 


the Punic population. People actually began to 
represent it as a national palladium. 

Paganism, quite apart from the Berbers, was not 
of course extinct even in the fourth century, but the 
resistance encountered by Christianity seems upon 
the whole to have been less here than elsewhere. 
We must look upon any accounts of pagan re- 
actions at Calama and Sufes (Aug., ep. xe., xci., 1.) 
as exceptional. 

As for the number of bishoprics, almost a hundred 
can be shown to have existed by 258 a.p., and by 
the beginning of the fourth century twenty-five more 
were added. But the places where bishops can be 
traced were not all the places where bishoprics 
existed, as is shown by the following consideration. 
In his work against the Donatists, Optatus happens 
to mention seventeen towns in which there were 
bishoprics at the date of the great persecution. Of 
these seventeen, only eight are noted in Cyprian. 
The other nine he never mentions. Hence it follows 
with some probability that the number of bishops in 
Africa was nearly doubled between 258 and 303 a.p. ; 
while, if one assumes (see above) about 130 or 150 
bishoprics in Cyprian’s day, one will be disposed to 
set down about 250 as their number at the opening of 
the fourth century. This hypothesis is corroborated 
by the fact that in the year 330 no fewer than 270 
Donatist bishops were able to assemble. Conse- 
quently, if our calculations are correct, the growth 
of the episcopate in Northern Africa exhibits the 
following stages: circa 220 a.pD. (Agrippinus), 70-90 
bishoprics; circa 250 a.p. nearly 150; by the 
opening of the fourth century hardly less than 


424, EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


250; and at the beginning of the fifth century 
about 600. 

I now proceed to set down a list of the places 
where we know Christian churches existed previous 
to 825 a.p. They are as follows * :— 

Places mentioned previous to Cyprian” :— 

Carthage (‘Tertullian). 

Madaura (in Numidia, where — according to 
Augustine—the first African martyr perished). 

Scilium (Acta Mart. Scil., hitherto unidentified, 
though it must have lain in proconsular Numidia ; 
ep. Neumann’s Rém. Staat und Kirche, i. p. 71; it is 
not the same as Cillium in Byzacium). 

Uthina (Tert., de monog. xii.; in Afric. procons. 
Zeug. ). 

Lambesa (Tert., ad Scap.iv. ‘The heretic Privatus 
lived here not later than circa 240 a.p. ; in Numidia). 

Hadrumetum (Tert., ad Scap. ii.; im Afric. 
procons. Byz.). 

Thysdrus (Tert., ad Scap. iv.; in Afric. procons. 
Byz.). 

Tipasa (in Mauret. Ces. ; a dated Christian inserip- 
tion of the year 238 in CYL vii., No. 9289, Suppl. 
20,856. But its Christian character is not absolutely 
certain). 

There were Christians in ‘Tertullian’s day in 
Mauretania; cp. ad Scap. iv.: “Nam et nune a 
praeside Mauretaniae vexatur hoc nomen” (see 
above, p. 414). 


1 I am sorry to have been unable to examine Toulotte’s work, 
Géographie de l Afrique chrétienne (Paris, 1892 f.). 

2 In marking the provinces in which the various towns lie, I 
have followed the map in CJL, vol. viii. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 425 


Places mentioned by Cyprian’ :— 

Abbir Germaniciana (identification uncertain ; cp. 
Wilmanns in CYL, viii. p. 102, and Tissot’s Géogr. 
de la province Romaine [ Afrique, ii. pp. 593, 771. 
Wilmanns identifies Abbir Cellense in Africa, 
procons. Zeug., with Abbir maius, and our Abbir 
with Abbir minus, which is also to be sought in 
Procons. Zeug.). 

Abitini (unidentified; must have lain near 
Membressa in Afric. procons. Zeug.; local martyrs, 
ep. vol. i. pp. 456, 492, and Ruinart’s Acta Mart., 
pp. 414 f). 


! The classification of the eighty-seven bishops at the council of 
Carthage is not according to their provinces, so that in cases where 
the seat of the bishopric has hitherto eluded identification, one 
cannot unfortunately determine from the order the precise province 
in which we are to look for it. Some help, however, is afforded by 
the lists of later Carthaginian councils, when the bishoprics are 
assigned to their provinces. A curious position at the former 
council was oceupied by the bishopric of Tripolitana, which was 
represented by two members, one of whom voted also in the name 
of two absent bishops of Tripolitana. (It is remarkable, by the 
way, that Neapolis, along with Leptis magna, had a bishop of its 
own, and that the bishop of the latter place was represented by 
the bishop of Oea and not of Neapolis. Probably the former was 
an older man. Perhaps, too, by Neapolis we are meant to under- 
stand, not the Tripolitan town, but Neapolis in provincia Zeugitana, 
although it is mentioned after Oea.) These Tripolitan Christians 
voted (Nos. 83-86) at the conclusion of the division, apologizing by 
themselves for the non-appearance of their two colleagues, and 
then voting in their stead. As the opening of the protocol 
mentions Africa, Numidia, and Mauretania, without a word of 
Tripolitana, we may perhaps assume that the Tripolitan bishops 
were not at that time regular members of the general African 
synod, but held a kind of independent position, though they 
received on this occasion a special invitation to be present (which 
would also explain the unusual act of taking their votes in absentia). 
As the other bishops did not vote according to their provinces— 


426 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Aggya (=Acbia,=Agbia in Afric. procons. 
Zeug.; Tissot, il. pp. 339, 341, 450).” 

Ammedera (= Ad Medera, in Afric. procons. Byz. ; 
Tissot, 1. pp. 459 f. 816). 

Assuras (Numid. procons. ; Tissot, 11. pp. 568, 619, 
818). 

Ausafa (probably = Uzappa; cp. Tissot, 11. pp. 575, 
586, 600, 791; in Afric. procons. Byz., not far from 
the S.E. corner of Num. procons.). 

Ausuaga (= Auzuaga; there were two places of 
this name in Africa procons., but neither, to my know- 
ledge, has been identified ; cp. Tissot, 1. p. 772). 

Bagai (in Numid. ; see Tissot, 1. p. 817). 

Bamacorra (in Numid.; unidentified; called after 
the patronymic of Bamacures, Pliny, v. 4; cp. Tissot, 
Ma et (a): 

Biltha (unidentified ; its bishop was the first speaker 
at Cyprian’s great council. According to the list of 
the council of 411, we are to look for this place in 
Africa procons.). 

Bulla (may be identified with Bulla Regia in 


a proof that the ecclesiastical division of the African provinces was 
still very imperfect—it is obvious that they must have voted in 
order of seniority ; and this conjecture is corroborated (1) by the 
well-known fact that in Numidia the oldest bishop always discharged 
the duties of the metropolitan; and (2) by the remark that the 
bishop (of Cuicul) who voted as No. 71 emphasized the ‘recent 
origin” (“novitas”) of his episcopate (“‘ Novitas episcopatus effecit, 
ut sustinerem quid maiores indicarent’’), as did the seventy-eighth 
bishop (‘‘ quod et ipsi scitis, non olim sum episcopus constitutus”’). 
A comparison of the names of the bishops at the earlier councils 
shows, however, that this principle of seniority cannot have been 
strictly adhered to in every case. 

1 Others identify Aggya with Oppidum Aggense, not with 
Agbia. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3225 A.D. 427 


Numid. procons., but there seems also to have been 
a Bulla in Afric. procons.). 

Buslacena (=Bisica Lucana in Afric. procons. 
Zeug.? Hardly. ‘The place is unknown). 

Buruc (Burug; unknown. In procons.). 

Capsa (=Gafsa in Afric. procons. Byz. ; ep. Tissot, 
ii. pp. 663, 783. But there seems also to have been 
a Capsa in Numidia; see Tissot, p. 777). 

Carpi (Africa procons. Zeug.). 

Castra Galbze (unidentified ; in Numid.). 

Cedia (in Numid. ; cp. Tissot, ii. p. 817). 

Chullabi (unknown). 

Cibaliana (unknown ; procons.). 

Cirta (in Numidia; the existence of several 
basilicas previous to the great persecution is proved 
by Optatus i. 14. Native-place of Cacilius Natalis, 
the disputant in the Octavius of Minutius Felix: see 
also CIL viii., Nos. 7094-7098, and Dessau in Hermes, 
1880, part 3). 

Cuicul (in Numidia, on the borders of Mauretania ; 
Tissot, 1. pp. 27, 409, 806, 815). 

Curubis (Africa procons. Zeug.). 

Diana (so Cypr., ep. xxxiv. 1, according to codex 
Z: ‘“Gaio Dianensi”; other MSS. “Gaio Didensi.” 
Perhaps Diana Veteranorum in Numidia; cp. ‘Tissot, 
ll. pp. 484, 508, 817). 

Dionysiana (Africa procons. Byz. ; unidentified). 

Furni (Africa procons. Zeug.; ep. Tissot, i. pp. 
XVi., 322, 580). 

Gazaufala (= Gadiaufala, in Numidia; see Tissot, 
ii. pp. 385, 418). 

Gemelle (it is hardly the Mlili in the extreme 
S.E. of Numidia that is meant, but the Mauretanian 


4.28 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Gemelle S.E. of Sitifis; cp. Tissot, 1. pp. 28, 30, 
507-509, 523, 807. A third Gemelle lay near Capua 
in Byzac.). 

Germaniciana (Africa procons. Byz., between Aque 
Regie and Thysdrus ; Tissot, ii. p. 589). 

Girba (also Girha and Gibar in MSS. ; unidentified. 
‘The island Girba in Tripolitana ?) 

xorduba (MSS. al.: Gor, in Africa procons. Zeug. ; 
ep. Tissot, u. 555, 595). 

Gurgites (Africa procons. Byz.; unidentified). 

Henschir Tambra: where Christian inscriptions 
have been discovered, dating from the third century 
(see Akad. d. Inscr. et Belles Lettres, Compte Rendu, 
1904, pp. 186 f.). 

Hippo Regius (Numid. procons.). 

Hippo Diarrhytus (Africa procons. Zeug.). 

Horrea Celia (Africa procons. Byz.; ep. Tissot, 
ll. pp. 145, 809). 

Lamasba (Numidia). 

Lares (Num. procons.; cp. Tissot, 1. pp. 454, 
816). 

Leptis magna (Tripol.; cp. Tissot, i. pp. 31, 219, 
812). 

Leptis minus (Africa procons. Byz.; cp. Tissot, 
ii. pp. 49, 168, 171, 728, 810). 

Luperciana (unknown). 

Macomades (Numid.; cp. Tissot, li. p. 477; but 
perhaps M. minores on the coast of Africa is meant, 
procons. Byz.; we are not to think of M. Syrtis). 

Mactaris (Africa procons. Byz.; cp. Tissot, il. 
pp. 586, 620, 819). 

Marazana (Africa procons. Byz.; ep. Tissot, i. 
p-. 629). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 429 


Marcelliana (unknown). 

Mascula (Numid.; cp. Tissot, 1. pp. 480 f., 505, 
817). 

Membressa (Africa procons. Zeug.; ep. Tissot, 1. 
pp. 325, 774, 812). 

Midila (or Madili, Medila. In the fifth century 
there was a Numidian bishopric of Midili, but here 
we are perhaps to think of the pagus Mercurialis 
Veteranorum Medelitanorum lying not far from the 
modern Tunis; cp. Tissot, i. p. 591). 

Milev (in Numidia). 

Misgirpa (or Miscirpa, Migiripa, Migirpa, in pro- 
cons. ; unknown). 

Mugue near Cirta in Numidia (known through the 
Mart. Mariani et Jacobi). 

Muzula (unknown ; in procons.). 

Neapolis (Tripolit.; cp. Barth, in Tissot, 11. p. 220. 
Though Neapolis was but a division of Leptis magna, 
it had a bishop of its own. Otherwise we must under- 
stand by it in this connection the town of Neapolis in 
Africa procons. Zeug., despite the fact that Neapolis 
here stands immediately after Oea; cp. above, p. 425, 
and Tissot, 11. pp. 133 f.). 

Nova (Nova Petra, not far from Diana in Numidia ? 
Tissot, 1. p. 509. Or Nova Sparsa at Gemelle? Or 
some unknown spot ?). 

Obba (or Bobba; is usually looked for in Maure- 
tania, but it lies not far from Lares in Numid. procons. ; 
ep. Tissot, 1. p. 459). 

Octavum (Num. or Byz. ; unidentified). 

Oea (Tripol. ; cp. Tissot, 11. pp. 217, 812). 

Rucuma (Africa procons. unidentified). 

Rusicade (Numid. ; Tissot, 1. pp. 103, 808). 


430 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Sabrata (Tripol. ; Tissot, 1. pp. 209, 211). 

Segermes (=Henchir Harat in Africa procons. 
Zeug.; cp. Tissot, 11. p. 558). 

Scan (=Sicca Veneria in Num. procons. ; Tissot, 
ii. pp. 7, 21, 875, 815). 

Sicilibba (Africa procons. Zeug. ; Tissot, il. pp. Xvi., 
318, 487, 564). 

Sigus (a mine near this town S.E. of Cirta ; Grae 
ep. \xxix. ; Tissot, i. p. 424). 

Sufes (Africa procons. Byz.; cp. ‘Tissotjagae 
p: S17): 

Sufetula (Africa procons. Byz.; cp. Tissot, 1. pp. 
618, 819). 

Sutunurum (MSS., Sutunurcensis, Suturnucensis, 
Quoturnicensis, Uturnucensis, perhaps Suburburen- 
sium gens, between Cirta and Sitifis, in Numidia; ep. 
CIL viii., Nos. 10,335 and 8270). 

Thabraca (seaport on the African coast of Num. 
procons. ; Tissot, 1. pp. 94, 808). 

Thambi (unidentified). 

Thamogade (= Thamugadi in Numidia; cp. Tissot, 
ll. pp. 30, 487, 817). 

Tharasa (in Numidia; unidentified). 

Thasualthé (or Thasuathé, perhaps the same as 
Thasarté in the southern part of Byz., on the borders 
of Tripolitana; cp. Tissot, 1. p. 656). 

Thelebté (Africa procons. Byz.; cp. ‘Tissot, ii. pp. 
49, 648 f., 676, 783). 

Thene (Africa procons. Byz.; cp. Tissot, 1. pp. 
2,.16,,190, SEL); 

Thevesté (in Numidia; see also sage: il. 18). 

Thibaris (Africa procons. Zeug.; cp. Tissot, il. p. 
367). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 431 


Thimida Regia (Africa procons. Zeug. ; cp. Tissot, 
ii. p. 590). 

Thinisa (probably Thunisa ; Africa procons. Zeug. ; 
ep. Tissot, ii. p. 86). 

Thubune (in extreme S.W. of Numidia; cp. 
Tissot, ii. p. 719). 

Thuburbo (either Th. minus in Africa procons. 
Zeug. ; cp. Tissot, ii. pp. 247, 812; or Th. maius in the 
southern district of the same province; cp. Tissot, 11. 
p. 545. Augustine knew of martyrs in this town, 
who are included with Perpetua and Felicitas by 
the inferior class of MSS. of the Acta Perpet. et 
Felic.). 

Thucca (= Thugga; Africa procons. Zeug.). 

Tucca (seaport on the borders of Numidia and 
Mauretania; ‘Tissot, 11. -pp. 411 f.; or = Tucca 
Terebenthina in the north of Byzac.; Tissot, ii. 
p. 619). 

Thuccabor (Africa procons. Zeug.; ep. Tissot, ii. 
pp. 291, 812). 

Vade? Bade? Badis? Cod:s—_T: = Abbadis (in 
Numidia; unidentified; perhaps Ad Badias between 
Bescera and Ad Maiores in southmost Numidia). 

Vaga (in Africa procons. Zeug.; cp. Tissot, . pp. 
6, 302, 813). 

Victoriana (in Numidia ; unidentified). 

Vicus Cesaris (unknown, perhaps in Numidia; 
hardly = Vicus Augusti south of Vaga in Africa 
procons. Zeug. ; cp. Tissot, i. pp. 257, 607, 770). 

Ululis (unknown ; are we to substitute for it Uzelis 
in Numidia or Uzalis in Utica ?). 

Utica (Africa procons. Zeug.). 

Zama (Zama regia in Numidia procons. ; cp. Tissot, 


432 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


i. pp. 7, 571, 577 f., 586. We are hardly to think 
here of Zama minor [Colonia Zama)).' 

Places mentioned after Cyprian, down to the council 
of Nicea :— 

Aptungi (Autumni; unidentified hitherto, perhaps 
in Numid. procons. ; Acta Donat.). 

Aquez Tibilitanee (in Numid., on the borders of 
Numid. procons., Acta Donat. ; cp. Tissot, ii. p. 384). 

Calama (Centurionensis, 4cta Donat. ; in Numidia ; 
unidentified). 

Centurionis (Centurionensis, Acta Donat.; in 
Numidia, unidentified). 

Garbe (Acta Donat. ; in Numidia; unidentified). 

Limata (Acta Donat. ; in Numidia ; unidentified). 

Rotarium (Acta Donat. ;in Numidia ; unidentified). 

Case Nigre (Acta Donat. ; in Numidia ; unidenti- 
fied). 

Tigisis Numid. (4cta Donat.; in Numidia; ep. 
Tissot, 11. pp. 420, 816). 

Cesarea Mauret. (synod of Arles; ancient 
martyrs; cp. CLL viu., No. 9585). 

Legisvolumen (in Numid., unknown; synod of 
Arles). 

Pocofelta (synod of Arles; it is uncertain whether 
we are to look for this town in North Africa at all). 

Verum (synod of Arles; it is uncertain whether 
we are to look for this town in North Africa at 


all). 


1 The father of Novatus died in a village (“ vicus”’; ep. Cypr., 
ep. lii. 3) which is not named.—We must look in Mauretania for 
the bishop of an “incerti loci,’ to whom Cyprian’s seventy-first 
epistle is addressed (cp. ep. Ixxii, 1); perhaps, too, for bishop Jubajan 
(ep. Ixxiii.), who occupied a see at a great distance from Carthage. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 433 


Alatina (or Alutina; unknown; a number of MSS. 
[Mart. Saturnini et Dativt] write Abitini, a city 
mentioned also by Cyprian ; cp. above, p. 425). 

Ambiensis (in one MS. the martyr Maximus is 
described as having been martyred in the province 
of Ambiensis [Ruinart, p. 202]; according to the 
Notitia eccl. Africane there was a bishop of A. in 
Mauretania. The place is unknown). 

Bolitana civitas (local martyrs, according to Augus- 
tine ; the place is unknown; perhaps = Ballis [Vallis] ; 
ep. Optatus, 11. 4). 

Bubiduna? (Novidunum? Nividunum ? unknown. 
Local martyrs, according to the Martyrol. Syriacum). 

Cartenna (Mauret.; local martyrs; cp. Schwartze, 
Unters. iiber die Entwicklung der afrikanischen 
murche, 1892, pp. 109 f.). 

Cherchel (Mauret.; numerous inscriptions, which 
are probably to be transferred to the third century). 

Cicabis (Ticabis; in Maur. Sitif.; unidentified ; 
Mart. ; cp. Schwartze, p. 147). 

Maxula (Africa procons. Byz.; cp. Tissot, i. pp. 
111, 719; local martyrs, according to Augustine). 

Sitifis (Mauret. ; martyrs ; cp. Schwartze, pp. 145 f.). 

Thagasté (Numid. procons.; August., de mendacio 
xii.). 

Thagura = Thagara (Numid. proconis.; cp. Tissot, 
il. pp. 382, 814; St Crispina was born here). 

Thibiuca (so we may read, instead of Thibiura ; we 
are not to think of Thibursicum Buré; in Africa 
procons. Byz; Mart. Felicis; ep. Tissot, ii. pp. 
287 f.). 

Tingi (Mauret., 4cta Marcelli). 

Tizica (Augustine observes that the bishop of this 

VOL. I. 28 


434 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


town, Novellus, was condemned by the Donatists in 
B13 A.D.): 

Uzalis (near Utica, or Uzelis in Numidia; Mart. 
Felicis et Gennadit). 

Orléansville (near this town ruins of a basilica have 
been discovered, which was built in 324 a.p., aecord- 
ing to an inscription in CTL vii., 9708). 

In the vicinity of Sousse a catacomb, with third cen- 
tury inscriptions, has been discovered ; see “ Akad. d. 
Inscr. et Belles Lettres,” Compte Rendu, 1904, pp. 637 f. 

Cephalitana possessio (near Thuburbo minus or 
maius; unknown; in Africa procons. Zeug.; Mart. 
Maxime et Secunde, ete.).' 

Setting aside places which cannot be identified at 
all in connection with the province, as well as places 
which are doubtful on account of the similarity of 
their names or for other reasons, the remainder group 
themselves thus: to Africa proconsularis and _ to 
Numidia falls the majority of the bishoprics: 'Tripoli- 
tana and Mauretania have but a few. With map in 
hand we notice the equable distribution of Christianity 
over the various provinces (with the exception of 
Mauretania), equable, z.e., when we take into account 
the nature of the soil and the presumed density of 

1 There is a dated (322 a.p.) Christian inscription in Satafis= Ain 
Kebira in Mauretania Sitif. (ep. C/L viii., Suppl. III. No. 20,305, 
the sheets of which were furnished me by the courtesy of Herr 
Dessau). Should we not also regard as Christian the inscription 
from Auzia in Mauretania Ces. (loc. cit., No. 20,780), dated 318 a.p., 
with the formula D:M-S-, rendered as ‘donis memoriae spiri- 
tantium’’? For Tipasa and its female martyr Salsa, see loc. cit., 
Nos. 20,914 and 20,903.—Of all the ruins of churches and basilicas 
discovered in the African provinces, not one can be traced back, so 


far as I know, to the third century with any probability, not even 
the church of Henchir-el-Atech (= Ad Portum). 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 435 


the population." The only parallel to this diffusion 
occurs in some of the provinces in Asia Minor. Even 
before Constantine the Christianizing of the country 
had proved itself a penetrating influence. But though 
it penetrated far, it did not last. Rapidly as Christi- 
anity struck down its roots into the soil of Africa 
and spread itself abroad, it was as rapidly swept away 
by Islam. The native Berber population was but 
superficially Christianized, so far as it was Christianized 
at all. The next stratum, that of the Punic 
inhabitants, appears to have been Christianized for 
the most part; but as the Punic language never got 
possession of the Bible or of any _ ecclesiastical 
dialect, the Christianizing process was not perma- 
nent. ‘The third stratum, that of the Greco-Roman 
population, became in all likelihood entirely Christian 
by slow degrees. But it was too thin. Individual 
churches did manage to maintain themselves till far 
on in the Middle Ages, but they were quite sparse, 
and the Christians showed less tenacity in this quarter 
than their far less numerous neighbours the Jews. 


§ 19. SPAIN. 


“Here, also, the republic had from the very first 
contemplated the conquest of the whole peninsula.” 
“If any preliminary steps had been taken by the 
republic which facilitated the Romanizing of the 
West—that movement of world-wide significance 


1 Only we must observe that Carthage retained the same 
importance for the Christianizing of Africa as for the Romanizing 
of the province. Churches were most numerous in the vicinity, 
near and far, of the metropolis. 


436 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


which belonged to the subsequent imperial age,— 
these steps were taken in Spain.” ‘In no other 
province, during the imperial age, was the Romanizing 
process so keenly urged by the authorities as in 
Spain.” ‘When Augustus died, the Roman 
language and Roman customs predominated in 
Andalusia, Granada, Murcia, Valencia, Catalonia, 
and Arragon; and a large proportion of these results 
is to be attributed to a Romanizing, and not to a 
colonizing, process.” ‘Monuments with native 
inscriptions, dating from the imperial age, can 
hardly be found in Spain.” ‘No other province 
exhibits a Romanizing process of equal strength in 
matters of ritual.” ‘Historically, the outstanding 
feature of importance in the Latin authors of Spain 
is the undeviating adherence of these provincials to 
the literary development which marked the mother- 
country. The Gallic rhetoricians and the great 
authors of the African church remained to some 
extent foreign, even as they wrote in Latin; but no 
one would judge, from their style and substance, that 
a Seneca or a Martial was a foreigner.” ‘ Under 
Augustus, Tarraco was the headquarters of the 
Government.” ‘The headquarters of the Spanish 
troops lay between Lancia, the ancient metropolis of 
Asturia, and the new Asturica Augusta (Astorga) in 
Leon, which still bears his name.” ‘* Although else- 
where throughout the senatorial provinces it was 
unusual for imperial troops to be stationed, Italica 
(near Seville) formed an exception to the rule. It 
had a division of the Leon legion.” “We find.... 
Emerita (Merida), a colony of veterans founded by 
Augustus during his stay in Spain and elevated to 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 437 


be the capital of Lusitania. In the provincia Tarra- 
conensis the burgess-towns are mainly on the coast ; 
only one appears in the interior, viz., that of 
Cesaraugusta (Saragossa).” 

The data known to us from the earliest history of 
the churches in Spain’ harmonize remarkably with 
these sentences from Mommsen’s Rém. Geschichte 
(v. pp. 57 f.; Eng. trans., i. 63 f.). For us, this history 
commences-—apart from the notices in Irenzeus (i. 10) 
and Tertullian (adv. Jud. vii., ‘ Hispaniorum 
omnes termini’), which prove the existence of 
Christians in Spain—with the letter (ep. Ixvi.) in 
which Cyprian replies to a Spanish communication. 
This letter shows that there were Christian com- 
munities in Leon, Astorga, Merida, and Saragossa, 
i.e. in the very spots where we would look for the 
earliest settlements. We learn also that the Spanish 
Christian communities were already numerous, that 
their bishops formed a united synod, and that several of 
the bishops were more secular than was the case else- 
where, whilst the sharp lines of demarcation between 
Christianity and the Roman cultus threatened to 
become obliterated (ch. 6). Finally, we learn that the 

! Gams’s work, die Kirchengeschichte von Spanien (Bd. I. u. IL., 
1862, 1864), is extremely painstaking but uncritical, though the 
author is not so destitute of the critical faculty as several of his 
Spanish predecessors. 

2 “Quapropter cum, sicut scribitis, fratres dilectissimi, et ut 
Felix et Sabinus collegae nostri [Spanish bishops, who had arrived 
at Carthage] adseverant utque alius Felix de Caesaraugusta fidei 
cultor ac defensor veritatis litteris suis significat, Basilides et 
Martialis [the accused bishops] nefando idololatriae libello con- 
taminati sint, Basilides adhuc insuper praeter libelli maculam [the 


Decian persecution] cum _ infirmitate decumberet, in deum 
blasphemaverit et se blasphemmasse confessus sit et episcopatum 


438 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


earliest extant appeal of a foreign bishop to the bishop 
of Rome was one outcome of this crisis (ch. 5). Even 
in Spain people were Roman.’ If we examine further 
the chaos of Spanish legends relating to the martyrs, 
we can safely say that Tarragona, Seville, Cordova, 
Calahorra, Complutum, and Saragossa were towns 
where Christian communities existed, while martyr- 
doms, and consequently Christian communities, may 


pro conscientiae suae vulnere sponte deponens ad agendam paeni- 
tentiam conversus sit deum deprecans et satis gratulans si sibi vel 
laico communicare contingeret, Martialis quoque praeter gentilium 
turpia et lutulenta convivia in collegio diu frequentata et filios in eodem 
collegio exterarum gentium more apud profana sepulcra depositos et 
alienigenis consepultos, actis etiam publice habitis apud procuratorem 
ducenarium obtemperasse se idololatriae et Christum negasse contestatus 
sit cumque alia multa sint et gravia delicta quibus Basilides et Mar- 
tialis implicati tenentur,” etc. (‘“Wherefore,.as you have written, 
dearly beloved brethren, and as our colleagues Felix and Sabinus 
maintain, and as another Felix of Casaraugusta, who upholds the 
faith and defends the truth, has shown in his letter, Basilides and 
Martialis have been contaminated by the accursed certificate of 
idolatry ; while Basilides, in addition to the stain of the certificate, 
blasphemed God when he was prostrated by sickness, and confessed 
that he had blasphemed; and then, owing to his wounded con- 
science, gave up his episcopate of his own accord, betaking himself 
to repentance and supplicating God, thankful even to be permitted 
to communicate asalayman. Martialis, too, besides his long-continued 
altendance at the shameful and lend feasts of the pagans in their halls, 
besides placing his sons there, in foreign fashion, among profane tombs and 
burying them beside strangers, has also admitted, in depositions before 
the ducenarian procurator, that he gave way to idolatry and denied 
Christ. Inasmuch, too, as there are many other grave crimes in 
which Basilides and Martialis are held to be implicated,” etc.). 

1 It was in opposition to this appeal that the Spanish bishops 
turned first of all to the African synod.—The history of the church 
in Africa in other respects, however, stands entirely apart from 
that of the Spanish church. The Donatist movement did not pass 
beyond the Straits of Gibraltar; in fact, it barely reached Mauretania 
Tingitana. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 439 


be probably assigned also to Italica, Barcelona, and 
Gerunda (= Gerona). A priori we should conjecture 
this in the majority of these towns.’ 

These scanty notices would exhaust our knowledge 
of the Spanish church’s history previous to Con- 
stantine. No famous bishop, not a single Christian 
author, is visible; no trace whatever of independent 
life’ is to be found, had we not the good fortune 
to possess the Acts and signatures of a Spanish 
synod, previous to Constantine, viz., the synod of 
Elvira.’ 

From these signatures (the names of course being 
Latin), we learn that all the Spanish provinces 
(excepting Mauretania 'Tingitana, however) were 
represented at the synod. 

Gallicia: Leon (Legio). 

Tarracon. : Saragossa (Tarragona being awanting). 

Lusitan.: Merida, Ossonova (Faro), Evora. 

Carthag.: Carthagena, Acci (Guadix), Castulo 
[Cazlona], Mentesa, Urci, Toledo, Salavia, Lorca, 
Basti. 

Beetica: Cordova,’ Seville, Tucci [Martos], Ipa- 


! We must compare with some of the Acts of the martyrs, 
especially Prudentius wept oredavwv. The martyrdom of bishop 
Fructuosus of ‘Tarragona (whose Acts I hold to be authentic) falls 
in the reign of Valerius. 

2 One trace perhaps may be detected in Priscillian, at the close 
of the fourth century. 

3 See Hefele, Konziliengesch., I." pp. 148 f. [Eng. trans., i. 
p. 131 f.]; Dale, The Synod of Elvira (1882); and Duchesne, 
le concile d Elvire et les flamines chrétiens (1886). Duchesne has 
shown it to be likely that the synod took place not long before 
SOS SA-D- 

4 The episcopal seat of Hosius, the well-known court-bishop and 
“ minister of religious affairs’’ under Constantine. 


440 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


grum (Epagro), Illiberis (Granada), Malaga, Llipula, 
Ursona, Illiturgi, Carula, Astigi, Ategua, Acinipo, 
Singilia-Barba, Igabrum, Ulia, Selambina, Gemella, 
Ossigi. 

To these fall to be added six further names in the 
list, all of which Gams has endeavoured to identify, but 
which have perished in the course of tradition.’ It 
is not surprising that, with a council held in Betica, 
almost two-thirds of the bishops (or clergy) should be 
looked for in that province. But one may conjecture 
that Betica was also the province in which the 
Christian population was most dense. At any rate, 
from those who took part in the council, it is plain 
that Christianity was diffused in all parts of the 
country about the year 300, as might well be ex- 
pected in the case of a province which had been so 
thoroughly Romanized. ‘The mere fact of twenty- 
five Betican churches and fourteen other churches 
being represented at Elvira involves the existence 


' Gams enumerates in Beetica :—Cordova, Seville, Tucci (Martos), 
Tpagrum (Epagro), Illiberis (Granada), Malaga, Ursona (Ossuna), 
Carula, Astigi, Acinippo, Ossigi, Cabra, Calagurris-Fibularia, Mon- 
toro, Andujar, Teva, Lorca, Laurum, Barbe, Ajune, Municipium (?), 
Montemayor, Drona (?), Vera, S. Lucar la Mayor. The signa- 
tures in the MSS. (leaving out the names of the bishops and 
clergy) run as follows:—Episcopus Accitanus, Cordubensis, Spal- 
ensis, Tuccitanus, Epagrensis [Bigerrensis], Castulonensis [Catra- 
leucensis], Mentesanus, Eliberitanus, Urcitanus [Corsicanus], 
Emeritanus, Czsaraugustanus, Legionensis, Toletanus, de Salaria 
[Siblaria, Sibariensis], Ossonobensis, Elborensis, de  Eliocrota, 
Bastitanus [Bassitanus], Malacitanus, Presbyter de Elepel, 
Orsuna, Illiturgi, Carula, Advingi, Ateva, Accinipi, Eliocrota, 
Lauro, Barbee, a Gabro, a Vine [?], a Municipio, Ulia, Sagalbina, 
Urci, Gemella, Castellona, Drona, Barca, Solia, Ossigi, Carthagine, 
Corduba. Any locality omitted above either rests upon an un- 
certain text or is no longer to be identified. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 441 


of a considerable number of churches throughout the 
country.’ 

The earliest source available for the history of the 
Spanish church points to a serious process of secular- 
izing, and the eighty-one canons of this synod amply 
corroborate this truth. At the same time they 
exhibit in a striking fashion that contrast between 
coarse worldliness and fanatical strictness which has 
characterized the history of the Spanish church in 
every age. The dreadful state of matters which 
Sulpicius Severus has unbared in the Spanish church 
of his own day, here throws its shadow across the 
earlier history. 

The worldliness of the Spanish church and the 
danger which it incurred of making terms with 
pagan rites, may be seen from the remarkable fact 
that local Christians discharged the office of flamen 
and other pagan priestly offices (whose religious 
character had faded), besides the duumvirate (ep. 
canons ii., iv., lv., lvi.), as well as from the misdeeds 
perpetrated by Christians themselves—such as Chris- 
tian mistresses who whip their handmaids to death 
(canon y.), Christian murderers, “ qui maleficio inter- 
ficiunt ” (vi.), the coarsest forms of lechery, adultery, 
and laxity in marriage (Vvil.-x., Xxx., XxxL, xlvi., Lx, 
Ixiv., Ixvi.—Ixxi.), Christian pimps and _ procuresses 
(xii.), adulterous consecrated virgins (xill.), parents 
who marry their daughters to pagan priests (xvii.), 
whorish and adulterous bishops and clergy (xviii.), 
adulteresses among the wives of the clergy (lxv.), 


1! The Spanish churches had not all bishops; several were 
governed indeed by a single deacon. Cp. the 77th canon of 
Elvira. 


442 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


clergy who trade and frequent fairs (xix.), clerical 
usurers (xx.), and so forth. Further proof of secular- 
ization is afforded by the prohibition of lighted candles 
by day in cemeteries, “lest the spirits of the saintly 
dead be disquieted ” (xxxiv.), and of women spending 
the night there, “since they often make prayer the 
pretext for secretly committing sin” (‘‘ eo quod saepe 
sub obtentu orationis latenter scelera commitunt ” 
xxxv.). [he prohibition which forbids any paintings 
in the churches may reflect on gorgeous basilicas and 
pagan abuse of pictures (xxxvi.: ‘ Ne quod colitur et 
adoratur in parietibus depingatur,” where one expects 
‘ne quod in parietibus depingitur colatur et adoretur’). 
Lampoons were already affixed to churches (lii.). 
And a secularizing tendency is implied even in the 
provision of canon xxxix., that “if pagans in their 
sickness wish hands to be laid on them, and if their 
life has been at all respectable, it is resolved that 
they shall receive the imposition of hands and be 
made Christians” (‘‘ Gentiles si in infirmitate desider- 
averint sibi manum imponi, si fuerit eorum ex aliqua 
parte honesta vita, placuit eis manum imponi et 
fieri Christianos”) ; for this implies that Christianity 
has been adopted as a “ viaticum mortis.” The fortieth 
canon presupposes a class of Christians who are great 
landed proprietors, and who permit their tenants 
to deduct from their rent monies laid out in 
honour of the god of agriculture. The forty-first 
canon presupposes people who let their slaves retain 
their idols, while canon xlix. relates to those who have 
their fields blessed by Jews. Tardiness or utter — 
neglect of church attendance (xxi, xlvi.); catechu- 
mens, who for a long while (‘ per infinita tempora, ” 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 3825 A.D. 443 


xlv.)' never came near the church; Christians who 
lent their clothes to deck out secular pageants (“ qui 
vestimenta sua ad ornandam saeculariter pompam 
dant,” lvii.); Christians who go up to the capital, 
like very pagans, to sacrifice to the idol and to look 
on (“qui ut gentiles ad idolum Capitolii causa sacri- 
ficandi ascendunt et vident,” lix.); gamesters (1xxix.), 
etc.—these are other features of the situation. 

These samples must suffice to indicate the extent 
to which Spanish Christianity had become domiciled 
in the world, and also diffused before the days of 
Constantine. But one other canon is of especial 
significance in this connection, the canon (lx.) which 
declares that no one is to be counted a martyr who 
has demolished images and perished for this offence. 
Here and there throughout Spain, Christians must 
therefore have attacked the pagan cultus by force, a 
fact which implies a wide diffusion of the faith. One 
further proof of this may be noted in the application 
of the name “ faithful” (“ fideles ”) even to heretics— 
which, so far as I know, was confined to Spain. It 
was applied thus by the very orthodox themselves 
(canon li.), so that the term “ fidelis ” must have lost 
much of its pristine force. Heretics, moreover, must 
have become very plentiful already in Spain, and 
the church must have been imperilled thereby, as is 
shown by the decision of canon xvi.,” which condemns 

1 It is evident from this canon, moreover, that no lists of cate- 
chumens were kept any longer, owing to their large numbers and 
their loose connection with the church. Yet they were held to be 
already Christians (cp. canon xxxix.). 

2 In canon xv. we read: “ Propter copiam puellarum gentilibus 


minime in matrimonium dandae sunt virgines Christianae, ne aetas 
in flore tumens in adulterium animae resolvatur ”’ [see above, p. 237]. 


444, EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


intermarriage with heretics more severely than inter- 
marriage with heathens. The Jews, too, were a 
danger to the Spanish Christians, and a number of 
canons show that a certain Judaizing tendency 
threatened the local Christians.—It is needless to 
bring forward separate canons to prove the rigour of 
the punishments threatened for these various offences. 


The history of the Spanish church, whose character- 
istics are so vividly brought out by these synodal 
canons, is totally unknown to us, as far as its origins 
are concerned. ‘The canons present it as already an 
“old” church. In the “ Roman” territory, to which 
even the apostle Paul (according to Clemens Romanus 
and the Muratorian Fragment) made his way, the 
church may have arisen almost as early as in Rome 
itself, but for a long time to come it did nothing to 
bring itself into notice, and upon its entrance 
eventually into the daylight of history no glorious 
things were spoken of it. The rigorous discipline 
decreed by the synod of Elvira over the churches 
may appear impressive to many people, but we are 
quite ignorant of its results, or rather, we are not 
ignorant that by the close of the fourth century 
the Spanish church was in a very bad way. No 
country offered such resistance as did Spain and her 
clergy to that monastic asceticism which formed the 
contemporary expression of all that was most earnest 
in Christianity. 

But no punishment is threatened as in the case of marriages with 
heretics and Jews. It is noticeable that the female sex in Spain 


also appears to have taken a keener interest in Christianity than 
did the men. 


CHRISTIANITY DOWN TO 325 A.D. 445 


We have now concluded our survey of the spread 
of Christianity in the Roman provinces. To render 
it complete, one would require to add a conspectus 
of the non-Catholic churches and their spread, but 
our knowledge of this department is too slight. All 
that can be said is that the more significant schisms 
and heresies (apart from Donatism) gained entrance 
to the churches in every quarter; we meet with them 
in Gaul and in North Africa as well as in Egypt and 
Syria." As to their strength and organization, of 
course, we can hardly put forward any surmises. 
Three large movements did assume forms which were 
truly cecumenical: Marcionitism, Montanism (between 
180 and 230; then it ceased to be cecumenical), and 
Novatianism. In point of catholicity, they were not 
inferior to the Catholic church, but we are unable 
to form any numerical estimate of their respective 
strength.” 


1 With the majority of these heresies and sects the energy of 
propaganda was very keen; which serves to establish, on their part, 
the zeal of Christians in general for propagandism. By 150 a.p. 
Marcion’s movement, according to Justin (Apol., I. xxvi.), was 
diffused everywhere throughout the empire (6s kata av yévos 
avOparwv 81a. THS TOV Sapdvoey cvAARnWEews TOADS Teroinke BAaopnplas 
deve, “ who, by aid of demons, has caused many in every race of 
men to utter blasphemies’’). By about 180 a.p., ae. fifty years 
after its origin, the Valentinian heresy with the adherents of 
Marcus had also permeated the churches of the East and the West 
alike.- The Montanist movement, which may have left its native 
soil about 170 a.p., had penetrated in all directions during the 
course of twenty years more. As has been observed above (vol. i. 
pp- 462 f.), the teachers and founders of the sects always betook 
themselves to Rome, in order to push their cause. 

2 By the end of the fourth century the primitive sects had 
already died out in the West, or passed over into Manicheism, 
as we learn from Augustine, Ambrosiaster, and Optatus (i. Oe 


446 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


* Haereticorum per provincias Africanas non solum vitia sed etiam 
nomina videbantur ignota—Marcion, Praxeas, Sabellius, Valentinus, 
et ceteri, usque, ad Cataphrygas” = Throughout the African pro- 
vinces people seemed ignorant of the very names, no less than of 
the vices, of heretics like Marcion, Praxeas, Sabellius, Valentinus, 
and the rest, even down to the Cataphrygians). But it was 
otherwise in the East. Theodoret (ep. 1xxxi.) tells how he con- 
verted eight villages and their surroundings (kai ras wépié Kepevas) 
from Marcionitism (note that the Marcionites were “ pagans,” and 
had grouped themselves at the same time in villages). In ep. 
exiii. the same bishop says that he had converted more than a 
thousand Marcionites, and similar facts are known with regard 
to Chrysostom and Nestorius. Theodoret’s boast, that he had 
suppressed over 260 copies of Tatian’s “ Diatesseron”’ in his diocese 
(Her. fab., I. xx.) is of no weight whatever. The book had 
hitherto been the gospel-book of quite orthodox Christian 
communities. 


APPENDIX. 


THE SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY AND THE SPREAD 
OF MITHRAISM. 


THanks to Cumont’s fine work, Les Mystéres de 
Mithra (1900, with a map illustrating the diffusion 
of the cult throughout the Roman empire),” we now 
know the history of Mithraism and the extent of its 
diffusion. It is instructive to compare its spread 
with that of Christianity, for (i.) both religions were 
Oriental ; (ii.) both entered the Roman empire about 
the same time, to run a parallel course ; (i11.) both were 
propagated at first among the lower classes ; and (iv.) 
both agreed in several important features. A glance 
at Cumont’s map, however, reveals at once the 
sharpest difference between the two religions ; in fact, 
it points to the real reason why the cult of Mithra 
could not gain the day, and why its religion had to 
continue weak, despite the wide extent of its diffusion. 
For the entire domain of Hellenism was closed to it, 
and consequently Hellenism itself. Greece, Mace- 


-donia, Thrace, Bithynia, Asia, the central provinces 
_ of Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt—none of 


2 Eng. ed. and trans. by T. J. M‘Cormack (1903; London: Kegan 
Paul, Trench, Triibner & Co.). 
447 


448 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


these ever had any craving for the cult of Mithra. 
And these were the civilized countries cat’ Foxy. 
They were closed to Mithra, and as he thus failed 
to get into touch at all with Hellenism, his cult was 
condemned to the position of a barbarous sect. Now 
these were the very regions in which Christianity 
found an immediate and: open entrance, the result 
being that the latter religion came at once into a 
vital contact with Hellenism, which led before long 
to a fusion of the two. Place a map of the spread 
of Mithraism (in the East) side by side with a map 
of the spread of Christianity, and you will observe 
that what is marked white in the one is black in 
the other, and vice versa. From this historians at 
once see that.the former had to perish, and the latter 
to survive. Throughout the regions lying between 
the south coast of one Adriatic aa Taurus, between 
Pontus and the cataracts of the Nile, there was never: 
any conflict at all between Mithraism and Christianity. 
Nowhere within these bounds, apart from a few 
towns upon the coast, did anyone know anything 
of Mithra. 

It was otherwise in the West. There Mithraism 
is not visible till after the close of the first century, 
and even during the second century its diffusion is 
still limited. But after the reign of Commodus it 
increases at a rapid rate, occupying province after 
province. From Cumont’s map we can _ plainly 
observe that soldiers were the real supporters or 
missionaries of the cult. Adherents of Mithra are 
most numerous in Dacia, Moesia, Noricum, Rheetia, 
and Germany, always on the boundaries of these 
provinces—and even in Britain. Next to the soldiers, 


CHRISTIANITY AND MITHRAISM 449 


it was Syrian traders, and especially Oriental slaves 
(as we learn from the ancient inscriptions), who 
spread the cult. But a diffusion of this kind counts 
for very little, and, as a matter of fact, while 
Mithraism permeated almost all the Western empire, 
it was of no importance as a universal religion until 
about 180 a.p. This change occurred when it came 
to be recognized at Rome that the imperial cultus 
and Mithraism were calculated to afford each other 
mutual support, as Cumont has clearly brought out 
in pp. 33-41 of his monograph (the section entitled 
“ Mithra et le pouvoir impérial”), pp. 13-32 having 
been already devoted to a survey of the spread of the 
religion. The cult of Mithra now passed out beyond 
the soldier’s tents and the settlements of the veterans, 
to reach the. officers of the army and to penetrate 
the world where people were socially connected 
with officers of high rank and with the emperor. 
And it vivified the imperial cultus as it- went (this 
cultus of the holy, the blessed, the invincible, the 
eternal One, the sun-king). In the third century 
Rome was simply the headquarters of the Mithra- 
cult, in which and with which the emperor _was_ 
worshipped as co-essential with the sun,  *consub-_ 
stantivum soli.” Middle and Upper Ttaly also, as 
well as the capital, had a large share in the cult. 
Did it form, we may ask, any real rival to Chris- 
tianity throughout the West? ‘This is a question 
which, in spite of the swift and wide expansion 
of the cult, I cannot answer in the affirmative. 
In the first place, we know nothing about the 
number of its adherents in the different localities ; 


we have much more accurate information upon the 
© 
VOL. IL 29 


450 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


strength of the Christian churches in this respect. 
Secondly, despite the deep significance of mysteries 
and conceptions—which, on a superficial view, reveal 
many points of resemblance to those of Christianity ' 
—despite its flexibility and powers of assimilation, 
Mithraism seldom managed to rise, even in the West 
(so far as 1 know), to the higher levels of intellectual 
culture. The emperor and the army supported it, 
and thereby it acquired an importance for wider 
circles in the empire. But a religion whose influence, 
properly speaking, was confined to the capital and to 
the outer circumference of the empire—a circumfer- 
ence of which large sections soon lapsed definitely 
into barbarian hands — such a religion could not 
possibly win a decisive triumph over the world. 
Galerius would fain have enforced Mithraism, at the 
instigation of its priests. For the cult had become 
a shield and safeguard for all the rest of the decaying 


1 The Fathers of the church do not seem to me to display any 
serious apprehensions about Mithraism, although of course they 
are astonished at several points of resemblance between it and 
Christianity. See, e.g., Tert., de prescr. xl.: “ Tingit diabolus quos- 
dam, utique credentes et fideles suos, expositionem delictorum de 
lavacro repromittit: et si adhue memini, Mithra signat illic in 
frontibus milites suos; celebrat et panis oblationem et imaginem 
resurrectionis inducit et sub gladio redimit coronam. quid quod et 
summum pontificem in unius nuptiis statuit? habet et virgines, 
habet et continentes ” (“ The devil baptizes certain folk, his believers 
and faithful ones, promising remission of sins after immersion, And 
if I still recollect aright, Mithra there sets a mark on the forehead 
of his soldiers, celebrates the oblation of bread, introduces a symbol 
of the resurrection, and wins a crown under the sword. And what 
are we to say of Satan restricting his high priest to one marriage ? 
The devil, too, has his virgins, and his chaste celibates”); also, 
de corona xv., and particularly a number of earlier passages in the 
Apology and Dialogue of Justin. 


CHRISTIANITY AND MITHRAISM 451 


cults. But the attempt failed, and Constantine gave 
the quietus to any hopes cherished by the priests of 
Mithra. Certainly Julian’s philosophic worship of 
the sun, in which even philosophic Hellenism finally 
tried to establish some point of contact, would have 
favoured Mithraism. Only, it proved itself abortive. 


CHAPTER IV. 
RESULTS. 


Do the materials thus amassed permit of any con- 
clusions being drawn from them with reference to 
the statistics of Christianity ? Can we get any idea, 
even approximately, of what was the number of 
Christians at the period when Constantine ventured 
to take the extraordinary step of recognizing the 
religion of the church and of granting privileges to 
the church itself ?* 

Definite estimates are, of course, out of the ques- 
tion. It is highly precarious to essay any estimate 
of how large was the population in the separate 
provinces of the empire and throughout the empire 
as a whole about the beginning of the fourth century, 
and how much harder, it may be urged, would it be 
to calculate, even approximately, the number of 
Christians? Despite all this, however, we need not 
abandon hope of some statistical enumeration. | For 
a relative method of calculation promises to yield 


1 In this case, to be recognized was to obtain privileges, just as 
in modern times the full recognition of the Catholic church is 
equivalent to granting it a privileged position ; admit it with all 
its pretensions and claims, and you thereby concede it supreme 


authority. 
452 


RESULTS 453 


important results,’ if we are careful to distinguish 
one province from another. To form wholesale 
calculations by lumping everything together, is of no 
use whatsoever. ‘Thus Gibbon thought he could 
estimate the number of Christians in the reign of 
Decius at about a twentieth of the entire population. 
Friedliinder only raises this proportion very slightly, 
even for the reign of Constantine, while La Bastie 
and Burckhardt calculate about a twelfth for the 
same period, and Chastel’s total for the East is about 
a tenth, for the West a fifth, thus leaving on an 
average a twelfth as well. Matter thought of a fifth, 
Stiudlin even of a half.” 

The last named-estimate is decidedly to be rejected. 
Beyond all question, the number of Christians, even 
in the West, never amounted to half the population. 
Even at the opening of the fourth century, Lucian 
speaks of Christians as constituting “by this time 


} Unfortunately, as has been already noted, the inscriptions are 
of hardly any use for our present purpose. Apart from Rome, this 
number seems to be small upon the whole, till we come down to 
the beginning of the third century. After that they may be of - 
some importance (as is fairly certain, e.g., in the case of Asia Minor), 
but we are not in a position to distinguish between those of the 
third and the fourth century ; hardly any of them are dated, while 
the internal criteria which have been drawn up with regard to those 
of Rome, Asia Minor, and North Africa, are not quite so reliable 
from the positive side as they are from the negative. 

2 Richter (das westriémische Reich, 1865, p. 79) calculates that 
there were about 1800 bishoprics all over the 120 provinces of the 
empire at the close of Constantine’s reign. For the period circa 
312 a.p. we must lower this number (in the West), but otherwise 
it is scarcely put too high. I should reckon that about 312 a.p. 
there were between 800 and 900 bishoprics in the East, and 
between 600 and 700 in the West—though even here one cannot 
get beyond the region of surmises, 


454 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


almost a majority in the world” (* pars paene mundi 
iam maior”); that is, even a Christian of Antioch, 
who was surveying a section of Asia Minor, did not 
dream of asserting that Christians already formed 
half of the local population. 

On the other hand, as we shall see, it is extremely 
probable that in one or two provinces Christianity did 
embrace a half, or very nearly a half, of the population 
by the opening of the fourth century, while in several 
cities Christians already formed a majority, and in fact 
a large majority, of the inhabitants. Furthermore, 
Eusebius, who is not much given to exaggeration, 
describes Christians as “the most populous of 
peoples” (see above, p. 168), evidently under the 
impression that there was no people of equal numbers. 
One Roman writer (see above, p. 151), not long after 
the middle of the second century, declares that they 
outnumbered the Jews; and although this statement 
originally applied to Rome and Italy alone, it was 
undoubtedly true of the whole empire,’ ere a century 
and a half had passed. Christianity must therefore 
have exceeded its first million long ago. 

One important fact must not be overlooked, viz., 
that as late as the reign of Philip the Arabian the 
far-travelled Origen found the number of Christians 
was upon the whole extremely small compared to 


1 Hence we are able to fix the outside limits within which the 
number of the Christians is to be sought. It must lie somewhere 
between three and four millions, on the one hand—since even the 
Jews cannot be reckoned at less thar this, at the opening of the 
third century (cp. vol. i. pp. 10 f.)}—and considerably short of half 
the entire population of the empire on the other. In the East, 
the number rose above the former limit ; while in the West, as will 
be evident, we must put it considerably lower than the latter. 


RESULTS 455 


the total population (see above, p. 177). Such is the 
opinion of a level-headed observer. It is corroborated 
by the position of matters as we find it in Cyprian, 
and it serves to check all those exaggerated outbursts 
of an earlier age (e.g., Tertullian) which frequently 
depict the external spread of Christianity as if it 
involved an inner expansion of equal moment. It 
would be unwise, therefore, to raise any question at 
all about what percentage of the population was 
Christian, with reference to the period c. 245 a.p.' 
But ere seventy or eighty years had passed, the 
council of Nicza was held. So that 7 was during \ 
these seventy or eighty years (or during the fifty or 
sixty years previous to Diocletian’s persecution) that 
the first notable expansion of the church took place. 
By the end of this period Christianity had at all 
events ceased to be of little moment. Thanks to its 
very numbers, it now constituted a significant factor 
in the Roman empire. 

The weight of this factor I propose to try and 
indicate, in the following pages, by means of a 
brief survey of the various provinces. It must be 
borne in mind, however, that numerical strength and 
real influence need not coincide in every case; a 


1 Cyprian corroborates this judgment of Origen, in so far as it 
may be inferred from his correspondence that the church at Carthage 
cannot be ascertained to have amounted to many tens of thousands. 
Including women and children, it may have been from ten to fifteen 
thousand strong. This enables us to form some rough idea of the 
strength of Christianity in Proconsular Africa and in Numidia, 
during the days of Cyprian; perhaps it may have then amounted 
to between three and five per cent. of the population in the cities. 
Tertullian’s flourishes, of course, touch a far higher percentage ; 
but no reliance is to be placed on him. 


456 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


small circle may exercise a very powerful influence 
if its members are largely drawn from the leading 
classes, whilst a large number may represent quite 
an inferior amount of influence if it is recruited from 
the lower classes, or in the main from the country 
districts. Christianity was a religion of towns and 
cities ; the larger the town or city, the larger (even 
relatively, it is probable) was the number of the 
Christians. This lent it an extraordinary advantage. 
, But alongside of this, Christianity had already pene- 
trated deep into the country districts, throughout a 
large number of the provinces, as we know definitely 
with regard to the majority of the provinces in Asia 
Minor, no less than as regards Armenia, Syria, Egypt, 
Palestine, and Northern Africa (with its country 
towns). Wherever we possess sources bearing on the 
inner history of the churches in a given province, we 
come across a series of places, otherwise unknown, 
with Christian inhabitants, or villages which either 
contain Christians or are themselves entirely Christian. 
Compare, for example, the history of Montanism in 
Phrygia, the treatise of Eusebius upon the Palestinian 
martyrs, the Testament of the forty martyrs im 
Armenia, the Acta Theodoti (for the district round 
Ancyra), and the Meletian Acts (for Egypt). All of 
which shows how deeply Christianity had penetrated 
the country districts in a number of provinces during 
the course of the third century, while at the same 
time it warns us that we must multiply considerably 
the number of such places as we happen to know of, 
in order to get any idea of the extent to which 
Christianity had diffused itself locally. 

Instead of attempting to give actual percentages, 


RESULTS 457 


I shall rather aim at furnishing four categories or 
classes of provinces and districts: (1) Those in which 
Christianity numbered nearly one half of the popula- 
tion and represented the most widely spread or even 
the standard religion, by the opening of the fourth 
century; (2) those in which Christianity formed a 
very material portion of the population, influencing 
the leading classes and the general culture of the 
people, and being capable of holding its own with 
other religions; (3) those in which Christianity was 
sparsely scattered ; and (4) finally, those in which the 
spread of Christianity was extremely weak, or where 
it was hardly to be found at all. 

The first of these categories includes (1) the entire 
province of what constitutes our modern Asia Minor, 
with the exception of some out-of-the-way districts, 
which were then, as they still are, of small account in 
point of civilization. The process of Christianizing 
went on apace in the west, north-west, and certain 
districts of the interior, at an earlier period than in the 
east, north-east, and south, the local conditions varying 
here and there; but by the opening of the fourth 
century the latter districts appear to have equalled 
the former, becoming almost entirely Christian. The 
proofs of this have been collected above, on pp. 326 f. 
In Phrygia, Bithynia, and Pontus there were 
districts which by this time were practically Christian 
all over; also there were now towns and _ villages 
which contained but few or no pagans. Further- 
more, as the numerous chor-episcopi prove, the 
Lowlands far and wide had been extensively 
Christianized. Most probably the network of the 
episcopal organization throughout all the Asiatic 


458 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


provinces was almost complete by cz7ca 300 a.p., and 
in these provinces the reaction under Julian was 
unable to make any headway. (2) It includes that 
portion of Thrace which lay over against Bithynia, 
2.e. Europe (so-called); and (3) Armenia. It baffles 
our powers of judgment to estimate the actual extent 
to which Christianity was diffused in this country ; 
all we can say is that the Christian religion had by 
this time become the official religion, and that the 
royal household was Christian. Eusebius treats the 
country as a Christian land, and takes the war 
waged by Maximinus Daza against the Armenians 
as a religious conflict. (4) Finally, there is Hdessa, 
a city which according to Eusebius was entirely 
Christian. I would not venture to group any 
other provinces under this category. 

The second category includes (1) Antioch and 
Coele-Syria—not merely the maritime towns of Syria 
and the Greek cities, be it noted, for by this time 
Christianity must have also penetrated deep into the 
Syriac population. Also (2) Cyprus and (3) Alew- 
andria, together with Egypt and the Thebais. The 
episcopal organization of Egypt as a whole, which 
commenced by the close of the second century, was 
substantially finished by the opening of the fourth 
century, when the new religion had also penetrated 
deep into the lower non-Hellenic classes, as is proved 
by the origin and extraordinary spread of monasticism 
in these circles after the close of the third century, no 
less than by the rise of the Coptic versions and the 
ecclesiastical dialect. (4) Then came Rome, Lower 
Italy, and certain parts of Middle Italy. In Rome 
itself the majority of the upper classes still held aloof, 


RESULTS 459 


and the events of the next seventy years show that 
we must not over-estimate the Christianization of the 
city by the opening of the fourth century. On the 
other hand, it is a well-established fact that Christi- 
anity was widely represented among the upper and 
even the highest ranks of society. ‘Thus Eusebius was 
able to describe how Maxentius began by assuming the 
mask of friendship towards the Christians (though, 
of course, he soon changed his tactics), “in order to 
flatter the people of Rome,” while the subsequent 
elevation of the cross by Constantine within the 
capital itself met with no resistance. Furthermore, 
the large number of churches in Rome, and the way 
in which the city was divided up for ecclesiastical pur- 
poses, show how thoroughly it was interspersed with 
Christians. By 250 a.p. the number of Christians 
in Rome cannot well have been less than 380,000 
(see above, p. 387). Subsequently, by the beginning 
of the fourth century it was probably doubled, 
perhaps quadrupled. As for Lower Italy and 
the districts of Middle Italy which lay in the 
vicinity of Rome, the fact that sixty Italian bishops 
could be got together as early as 251 a.p.—bishops 
who resided in out-of-the-way districts—permits us 
to infer the existence of quite a considerable 
Christian population circa 300 a.p. This popula- 
tion would be denser wherever Greeks formed an 
appreciable percentage of the inhabitants, z.e. in the 
maritime towns of Lower Italy and Sicily, although 
the Latin-speaking population would still remain 
for the most part pagan. The fact that the Christian 
church of Rome was predominantly Greek till shortly 
before the middle of the third century, is proof positive 


460 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


that up till then the Christianizing of the Latin 
population in Middle and Lower Italy must have 
been still in an inchoate stage, although it certainly 
made rapid strides between 250 and 320. (5) Africa 
proconsularis and Numidia.—We may unhesitatingly 
reckon these provinces in the present category, since 
the facts already mentioned prove that the majority 
of these towns contained Christian communities by 
the opening of the fourth century, and that the whole 
country was divided over the Donatist controversy. 
One might even be disposed to add these provinces to 
those of the first category, were it not for the inscrip- 
tions, which warn us against over-estimating the 
amount of Christianity in individual towns during 
the third century. ‘True, the inscriptions are no 
reliable guide even here. How much Christianity, 
nay, how much early Christianity even, may lie hid 
in them! Only, we are no longer able to lay hands 
on it. (6) Spain.—The canons of the synod of 
Elvira, together with the lists of that synod, justify 
us (though upon this point I am not quite certain 
of the facts) in including the Spanish provinces 
within this category, for these canons show the 
extent to which Spanish Christianity had become 
mixed up with local civilization by the year 300, 
and they also show how deeply it had penetrated 
all the relationships of life. (7) The overwhelming 
probability is—to judge from the situation as we 
find it in the fourth century—that certain (¢.e. the 
maritime) parts of Achaia, Thessaly, Macedonia, and 
the islands are similarly to be reckoned in this 
category, as well as the southern coast of Gaul. 
Our third category will embrace (1) Palestine, 


RESULTS 461 


where some Greek towns like Czsarea had a con- 
siderable number of Christians, as well as one or two 
purely Christian localities. As a whole, however, 
the country offered a stout resistance to Christianity. 
(2) Phoenicia, where the Greek cities on the coast 
had Christian communities, while the interior, 
dominated by a powerful and_ hostile religion, 
continued to be but slightly affected by Christianity. 
(3) Arabia, where a Christian life of some kind 
unfolded itself amid the Greco-Latin cities with 
their peculiar civilization. (4) Certain districts in 
Mesopotamia, (5-12) the interior of Achaia, of 
Macedonia, and of Thessaly, with Epirus, Dardania, 
Dalmatia, Mesia, and Pannonia. The two last- 
named large provinces adopted Christianity at a 
comparatively late period (see above, pp. 376 f.), but it 
must have shot up rapidly once it entered them. 
(18) The northern districts of Middle Italy and the 
eastern section of Upper Italy. (14) and (15), 
Mauretania and Tripolitana. 

Finally, our fourth category includes—apart from 
regions outside the empire such as Persia, India, and 
Scythia (though Western Persia at the opening of 
the fourth century may be included more accurately, 
perhaps, in our third category)—(1) the towns of 
ancient Philstia ; (2) the north and north-west coasts 
of the Black Sea ; (3) the western section of Upper 
Italy—Piedmont having no ecclesiastical organization 
even by the opening of the fourth century; (4) 
Middle and Upper Gaul ; (5) Belgica ; (6) Germany ; 
and (7) Rhetia.' 'To get some idea of the sparseness 


. 1 I do not venture to pronounce any judgment at all on Britain 
and Noricum, or upon Cyrenaica and Crete. 


462 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


of Christianity in Belgica, and consequently in Middle 
and Upper Gaul, as well as in Germany and Rheetia, 
one has to recollect what has been already said upon 
the church of Treves (p. 407), and also to compare 
the facts noted with regard to the church of Cologne. 
But let me at this point set a small problem in 
arithmetic. Treves was the most important city in 
all these provinces, and yet the sole church there 
certainly cannot have included more than from 500 
to 1000 members, while an even smaller total is 
probably to be fixed. Now, if we assume that twelve 
bishops, at the very outside, may be counted in 
Middle and Northern Gaul, Germany, Belgica, and 
Rhetia put together, and if we multiply this number 
by 500-700, adding also soldiers and some natives to 
our total, we get a membership of not more than 
10,000 Christians for all these provinces. From 
which it follows that in a statistical account of the 
church for the opening of the fourth century, these 
provinces, together with the rest of those grouped 
under our fourth category, might be omitted alto- 
gether, without any serious loss. 

The radical difference between the eastern and the 
western sections of the empire is particularly striking. 
Indeed, if one makes the use of Greek or Latin a 
principle of differentiation, the relative percentage 
of Christians in the former case becomes higher still. 
And the explanation is simple enough. While a 
Greek Christianity had been in existence since the 
' apostolic age, any Latin Christianity worth mention- 
ing dated probably from the reign of Marcus Aurelius. 
Since the days when the adherents of the Christian 
faith had got their name in Antioch, Christianity had 


RESULTS 463 


ceased to be a Jewish body. Strictly speaking, it 
had never been such, for it was rooted in what was 
a counter-movement to the Jewish church, being 
Hellenistic from the outset. It never divested itself 
entirely of this Hellenism, neither on Latin nor on 
Syrian soil. At least, wherever it went, until the 
close of the second century, it tended to promote the 
Hellenizng movement, and even at a later period 
it retained a strongly-marked Hellenistic element 
which clung to it and urged it on. The transference 
of the empire’s headquarters to the East at once 
preserved and accentuated the Greek character of the 
church even as an influence which told upon the 
western section of the empire—and that at a time 
when East and West already stood apart, and when a 
distinctive Latin Christianity accordingly began to 
shape itself with vigour. But it was the Hellenism 
of Asia Minor, not that of Egypt, which now took the 
lead, a Hellenism with elements and _ associations 
stretching as far back as the civilization of Persia. 
And there lay also the headquarters of the Christian 
church at the opening of the fourth century. 

We cannot procure any rough and ready figures 
giving the total percentages of Christians for the 


1 Compare the significant sentences with which Mommsen 
begins his article on “The Country of Gregorianus ” (Zeitschrift der 
Savigny-Stiftung, Rim. Abt., vol. xxii., 1901, pp. 139 f.): “Since 
Rome had ceased to be, not the capital of the empire, but the resi- 
dence of its ruler, z.e. since the days of Diocletian, the eastern 
portion of the empire, the partes Orientes, took the lead in every 
department. This tardy victory of Hellenism over the Latins is 
perhaps nowhere more surprising than in the sphere of juristic 
authorship.” We may go further without more ado, adding “and 
in the sphere of theological authorship.” Thanks to the Hellenism 
of Hilary, Ambrose, Rufinus, Jerome, Victorinus, and Augustine, 


464 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


eastern and the western sections of the empire; 
and even were such figures available, they would be 
valueless, for the aspect presented by the separate 
provinces or groups of provinces is far too varied. 
More weight attaches to such proofs as we have 
already led. From these we find that Asia Minor 
was the most Christian country (with Armenia and 
Edessa), that, in short, it was practically Christianized ; 
that, in the second place, it is closely followed by 
Coele-Syria with Antioch, Egypt (and Alexandria), 
Rome (and Lower Italy), Africa proconsularis and 
Numidia, and lastly, the maritime districts of Southern 
Gaul—with regard to the strength of their Christian 
elements. The resultant picture tells its own tale 
to the historical expert. If Christianity in these 
influential provinces not merely existed, but existed 
in large numbers, and existed as a power (which, we 
have seen, was actually the case); if it had already 
become the dominant power in Asia Minor especially, 
and if it had already (as has been shown) made its 
“way into the very heart of the army, then it is a 
matter of almost entire indifference how it fared in 
the other provinces, or how vigorous was the Christian 
element in these districts. Moreover, the church 
was international. Consequently, it was latent, so to 


this acquired an entirely new stamp throughout the West; the 
East simply thrust its problems upon the West during the fourth 
century, and also brought the West the wealth of its own gifts. 
Even by the close of the fourth century, the Latins in the church 
—apart, of course, from Rome and the Roman bishop—felt them- 
selves quite inferior in many respects to the Greeks. Rufinus writes 
the closing books of his church-history as though the history of 
the Greek church were really the one thing of importance, all 
else being a quantité néglhgeable. 


RESULTS | 465 


speak, as a powerful force even in provinces that were 
but thinly Christianized. Behind the tiniest isolated 
church stood the church collective, and this, so far 
from being a fanciful idea, was a magnitude supremely 
real. 

For a number of years previous to his famous and 
historical “ flight ” to Gaul, Constantine stayed at the 
eourt of Diocletian in Nicomedia. In one sense of 
the term, he was no longer a youth when he lived 
there. He kept his eyes open in a city or province in 
which he was confronted everywhere with the church, 
with her episcopate, and with her power over the 
minds of men. His Asiatic impressions accompanied 
him to Gaul, where they reappeared in the form of 
political considerations which led him to make 
his decisive resolve. His most serious opponent, 
Maximinus Daza, the Augustus of the East, was 
unteachable ; but that very fact made him the most 
useful tutor Constantine could have had. For the 
career of Daza made Constantine see as clear as 
print what were the methods which could not, and 
therefore dare not, any longer be employed in 
dealing with Christianity. 

It is idle to ask whether the church would have 
gained her victory even apart from Constantine. 
Some Constantine or other would have had to come 
upon the scene. Only, as one decade succeeded to 
another, it would be all the easier for anyone to be 
that Constantine. All over Asia Minor, at any rate, 
the victory of Christianity was achieved before ever 
Constantine did come on the scene, whilst it was assured 
throughout the countries mentioned in our second class. 
Enough to know these facts regarding the spread of 

30 


VOL. HU, 


466 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


Christianity! It required no special illumination 
and no celestial army-chaplain (to quote the saying 
of Lactantius about him) to have this brought to 
light, or to bring about what was already in existence. 
All that was needed was an acute and _ forceful 
statesman, and one who at the same time had a vital 
interest in the religious situation. Such a man was 
Constantine. He was gifted, inasmuch as he clearly 
recognized and firmly grasped what was inevitable. 
It was not by aid of anything artificial or arbitrary 
that he laid down the basal principles of his 
imperial state church; what he did was to let the 
leading provinces have the religion they desired. 
Whereupon other provinces had simply to follow suit. 

Was there anything remarkable, it may be asked, 
in the rapidity with which the Christian religion 
came to extend itself? We have only, it is true, a 
small amount of parallel material relating to the 
other religions in the empire, which might serve us 
for the purposes of such a comparison ; still, my reply 
to such a question would be in the affirmative. The 
facts of the case do justify the impression of the 
church-fathers in the fourth century, of men like 
Arnobius and Eusebius and Augustine—the impression 
that their faith had spread from generation to genera- 
tion with inconceivable rapidity.‘ Seventy years 
after the foundation of the very first Gentile Christian 
church in Syrian Antioch, Pliny wrote in the 


1 Augustine, in his rhetorical fashion, thinks Christianity must 
have reproduced itself by means of miracles, for the greatest miracle 
of all would have been the extraordinary extension of the religion 
apart from any miracles. See what has been said above (pp. 169 f., 
the passage from the theophany of Eusebius). 


RESULTS 467 


strongest terms about the spread of Christianity 
throughout remote Bithynia, a spread which in his 
view already threatened the stability of other cults 
throughout the province. Seventy years later still, 
the Paschal controversy reveals the existence of 
a Christian federation of churches, stretching from 
Lyons to Edessa, with its headquarters situated at 
Rome. Seventy years later, again, the emperor 
Decius declared he would sooner have a rival 
emperor in Rome than a Christian bishop [vol. 1. 
pp. 351, 352]. And ere another seventy years had 
passed, the cross was sewn upon the Roman colours. _\ 
It has been our endeavour to decipher the reasons 
for this astonishing expansion. ‘These reasons, on 
the one hand, were native to the very essence of the 
religion (as monotheism and as evangel). On the 
other hand, they lay in its versatility and amazing 
power of adaptation. But it baffles us to determine 
the relative amount of impetus exerted by each of 
the forces which characterized Christianity : to ascer- 
tain, ¢.g., how much was due to its spiritual mono- 
theism, to its preaching of Jesus Christ, to its hope of 
immortality, to its active charity and system of social 
aid, to its discipline and organization, to its syncretistic 
capacity and contour, or to the skill which it developed 
in the third century for surpassing the fascinations 
of any superstition whatsoever. Christianity was a 
religion which proclaimed the living God, for whom 
man was made. It also brought men life and know- 
ledge, unity and multiplicity, the known and the 
unknown. Born of the spirit, it soon learnt to 
consecrate the earthly. ‘To the simple it was simple ; 
to the sublime, sublime. It was a universal religion, 


468 EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 


in the sense that it enjoined precepts binding upon 
all men, and also in the sense that it brought men 
what each individual specially craved. Christianity 
became a church, a church for the world, and thereby 
, it secured the use of all possible means of authority, 
besides the sword itself. It continued to be exclusive, 
_and yet it drew to itself any outside element that was 
of any value. By this sign it conquered ; for on all 
human things, on what was eternal and on what was 
transient alike, Christianity had_set the cross. 


>a 
xil. 
Xvi. 
XViii. 
abe. 
3.0 l5 


Xxili. 


XXiv. 
XXV. 
XXVii. 
XXVIiil. 


END EX ES 


PASSAGES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT 


MatTrHew 
9 i. 43 
LS £. i. 40, 44 
7,44f. i. 182 
ee i. 183 
ey i. 160 
11 i. 43, 46 
hat i. 40 
i. 41, 106, 242, 
5 6 £, | 368, 435; ii. 
23 
( 170 
32 li. 3 
34-37 i, 489 
42 i. 183, 4345 ii. 2 
13 i. 416, 434 
25 rey eAifee! 
21 i. 44 
98 i. 159 
48 ii. 10 
18 ies 
Ve ried 4 
28 i. 41, 46, 399 
21 li. 58 
28 f. i. 41 f. 
6 f. eee lire 
8 i. 434; ii. 1, 10 
15 ee 
9 ii. 158 f. 
14 ew hf 
35 f. i. 147, 180, 233 
19 li. 232 
19 f. i. 44 f.3 ii, 172 





469 


Mark 
i. 32, 34,) . 
39 \ 1. 159 
ii. 9 oes 
Uy Len 
ili. 14 i. 399 f. 
15 i. 159 
vi.-13 tO 
var 27 i. 41 
ix. 38 i. 160 
Si. 1 i. 43 
xii. 16 i. 42 
28.34 i. 17, 18 
xiii. 9 i. 41 
10 1. 42 
xiv. 9 i. 42 
Xvi. 9 i. 160 
17 i. 160 
LuKE 
hao! ii. 37 
= ji 45, 65, 84, 
; i; . 116; 326 £ 
iii. 14 ii. 205 
iv. 23 i. 123 
26,27 i. 46 
34,41 i. 159 
5 eal a i i. 46 
xii. 4 li, 29 
xiii. 28,29 i. 46 
xvi. 9 lig 22 


INDEX OF PASSAGES 


470 
LuKke—contlinued 
xxi. 24 i. 46 
xxii. 30 i. 46 
xxiv. 47 i. 45, 46 
Joun 
i, 29 1. 47 
lii. 29 ii. 30 
Ven lete i. 306 f. 
22 1. 47 
vii. 48,49 i. 53 
x. 16 i. 47, 83 £., 306 
xii. 20 is ATCA. 
XV.8=15 ws 29 f. 
Acts 
i i. 46 
Oats 1. 405 
li, 18 i. 434 
vi. If. i. 54 f., 402 
Vine, IL ie LD pds 
25 li. 259 
26 f. i. 58 
ix. 19 f. i. 59 
31 £0! Fi, 50; Ht 
xi. 26 iG, O4— am 15 f. 
eA a 122i SN ar 
xis ii. 11 
MVE i. 50 
xiii. 1 i. 59, 65 
jin i. 108, 419, 421 f. 
xiv. 23 rie geil 
XV. i. 68, 88 f., 97 
4 rie ep | 
23 ii. 97 
sak, WU li. 372 
XVii. 19109 £7475 f. 
18 i. 110 
28 rh 1h (2 
xviii. 2 i. 6 
26 ii. 222 
xix, 13 i. 163 
Rx, 26 li. 5 
xxi. 10 f. 1. 421 
16 ii. 2 
os i. 513 ii, 172 f, 
247 








xxii. 4 f, i. 413 
xxiv. 5 rey 
XXVii. 3 li, 2A 
XXVili. 13 f. li. 391 
Ol) i. 4105 ii. 9 
RoMANS 
i. 8 li, 382 
ii. 8 1. 134 
19 1 Le 
viii. 29 ii. 31 
DX. — Ke i. 305 
xi. 25 f. rhe 
ants <i 1. 28135 
Fab Ih ie i. 325 f. 
xv. 26 f. i, 228 
ii. 89, 196, 219 f,, 
Die Hay Ber 389 
Tl i. 401 f. 
1 CorINTHIANS 
1 h2 i. 473 f. 
ml i. 482 f.; ii. 219 
26,27) i) 18806 
ii, 3,4f. i. 250, 281 
v. i. 260 
Vale ate li, 217 te 
14 li. 8 
50% i, 207 £3 382 
36 f. ii, 226; 2354, 
ret ae i. 402 
: i, 50, 403 f.; ii. 
249, 250 
14 i. 195 
x. 52 i. 304 
x15, E i. 289; ii. 218 
rally i. 68, 108 
26 1.295 
28 i, 421, 432 
ebb, 1 i, 299 
xiv. 23 1, 254 
34 f. ii. 218 
xv. 2,3 i. 106, 108, 474 
Xvi. 2 i. 193 
19 li. 218 


Actrs—continued 


INDEX OF PASSAGES 


2 CoRINTHIANS 


rhe | ii. 78, 89 
3 i. 183 
i. 1 i. 410 
viii. 9 eee 
5 Let, 20 
xu: 7 u 161 
GALATIANS 
hy ly ii. 301 
22 rig | 
ii. 10 i. 413; ii, 248 
20 1. 124 
Wares i. 258 
vi. 10 i. 201 
EPHESIANS 
li. 14 Peso pll ooo 
19 ii. 30 
20 1. 423 
ii, 5 i. 423; ii. 7 
iv. 28 1 193 
ve 12 Te To : 
14 f. obs, u.20 
PHILIPPIANS 
i 1 1. 51 
lis 35 i. 409 
lii, 20 I oS 
iv. 2 ii. 220 f. 
22 ii. 195, 382 
CoLossIANS 
118 rh te ss 
iii. 11 i. 304, 305 
iv. 15 li 220 
1 THESSALONIANS 
re AK] i. 108 
ii, 14f, i. 50, 53, 75, 22 
v. 8 120 
12 f. Wm: 51 
14 i. 147 








2 'THESSALONIANS 


471 


ii. 5, 7 i. 325 
iii. 6 i. 216 
10 i205 
1 TimotTuy 
rhs Jel ae i220 
ii. 1 £: ii. 64 f. 
15 rosea h Seah, Jey 
iver i. 267 
14 i. 419 
v. 8 i. 199 
9 f. ii. 226 
net rie, APS 
16 1. 149 
Waly The 120 
2 TimoTHY 
is Sot: ii. 206 
17 i. 138 | 
iii. 6 Mm 225 
Titus 
ib £ ii. 69, 90 
ria li. 225 
iii. 4 ols 
PHILEMON 
1f, ii, 220 
93 120 
HeEsrews 
vi. 10 i. 220 
KS li. 51 
32 f. we 2s 
34 1, 201 
xi. li. 223 
yang oe i. 220 
ff i. 418 
U3it 1, 315 
24, riot 
JAMES 
he rly Ao Wve 
iii, 1 i. 421, 445 
15 i, 158 
v. 4 f. 1 2hy 
14 i, 148 


AT2 


ili. 


INDEX OF 


1 PETER 


ii. 96, 330 f., 338 


i. 300 
i. 326 
i, 124 
i 
i 


1, 479; ii. 222 


i. 427 
ree AT 


2 PETER 
i. 405, 406 


1 JouHn 
i.. 289 
1. 289 
rh IO 


2 Joun 
li, 224 





PASSAGES 
3 JoHN 
ic { 1. 224, 399, 486; 
: 1 ii. 48, 95 
15 li. 28 f. 
REVELATION 
rh 4 i. 405 
9 i, vn 
20 li. 223 
23 i. 146 
li. 9 eer (Tl 
ey li. 330 
vii. 4 ii. 255, 256 
9 ii. 330 
aly JT i. 416 
XVili. 20 1. 405 


xxi. 14 i, 399, 405 


GENERAL INDEX 


"Ayroy, ii. 8 f. 

fEsculapius, i. 127 f., 144 f.; 
Me O20; 

Histhetic, i. 141. 

Alké, ii. 224. 

Alms, Christian, i. 185 f. 

Angels, worship of, i. 291. 

Apollos, i. 401, 4145 ii. 222, 305. 

Apologists and Christian apol 
Beue- i 201: f, 282 f:, 301--f., 
364 f.; ii. 3, ete. 

Apostles, Christian, i. 
ii. 47 f. 

Apostles, Jewish, i. 3, 17, 65 f., 
409 f. 

Apostolic Council (at Antioch), 
i, 86 f. 

Aquila and Priscilla, i. 462; ii. 
218 f,, 222 f. 

Army, Christianity in the, ii. 
204 f. 

Asceticism, i. 111, 117 f., 262, 
Oia 16 4.5 i. 291, 

Astrology, i. 383 f. 

Augustine, ii. 101, 135, 227 f., 
431, 463. 

Augustus, i. 21, 326-331; ii. 
330. 

Authority, i. 274 f. 


398 f.; 


Baptism, i. 285 f., 482 f.; ii. 
230, 231. 

Baptism, infant, i. 483, 484, 

Barnabas, i. 59, 400, 405, 419% 
421; ii. 36, 194, 277, 291, 398. 

Barnabas, ep. of, i. 78 f., 289, 
406; ii. 305. 








BaowAreds, i. 326. 
Basilides, i. 290; ii. 306 f.——~ 
“ Believers,” i. 321; ii. 6 f., 443. 
Bible, translations of, i. 471; 
ii. 270 £,, 300, 321, 415. 
Birth, narratives of Christ’s, i. 
84, 115. 
bishops, i. 279 f.; ii. 46 £, 386, 
AL] PA5S, eke. 
Book, the religion of a, i. 353 f. 
‘ Brethren,” ii. 9 f.,.31 f. 
Burials, Christian interest 
i. 205-207. 


in, 


Cesarea, Alexander of, ii. 339 f. 

Ceesars, worship of the, i. 371 f.; 
ii. 327, 449. 

Calamities, Christians 
212 

Catacombs, Sicilian, ii. 392, 393. 

Catechumens, i. 454, 488. 

Catholic epistles, i. 247, 428 f 

*“‘ Catholic,” the term, ii. 13 f. 

Celsus, i. 130 £, 177 f., 261,~ 
S18 fo: Ti. 1204. ete: 

Charity, practical, i. 181 f. 

Chor-episcopi, ii. 100 f., 269, 
353, 360, ete. 

Christianity, cosmopolitan, i. 307, 
318 f., 322 f. 

“ Christian,” the name, i. 60, 89, 
94 f.; ii, 15 f, 38, 123, 243, 
277. 

Chronography, Christian, i. 319. 

Church, as an authority, i. 277 f. 

Church and churches, the, ii. 
49 f., 67 f. 


and, i. 


473 


474 


Church, heightened value of, 
it, o2 tf, 

. “Church,” use of term, ii. 11 f. 

Collection, the Pauline, i. 227 f. 

Communism, early Christian, i. 
187. 

Confession, duty of open, i. 264, 
367 f. 

Constantine, i. 280; ii. 126 f., 
260 f., 345, 406, 465. 

Conversions, i. 488 f. 

Counsels of perfection, i. 
271 f., 281. 


107, 


Court, the imperial, ii. 189 f., 
1O2 4: 
Cultus, the Christian, i. 190 f., 


362.5: tis 52:4. 

Cyprian, i. 150, 188, 191, 213, 
itt Ago i 21 te eelts 
Sit, 103 ts, laOrt 5.176; 5237, 
416 f., 418 f., 437 f. 


Deaconesses, i. 149, 199; ii. 226. 

Deacons, i. 149 f., 199 f., 201, 
220. 

Demons, belief in, i. 152 f. 

Diaspora, number of Jews in, 
i oA 

Diognetus, epistle to, i. 
ie dio. 

Disciples, see under pabyrai. 

Domestic life, Christianity and, 
i, 489 f. 

Domitian, i. 372; ii. 166, 185, 
194 f, 243, 249. 


317; 


Ebionites, ii. 5 f., 248, 251 f. 

Ecstasy, i. 251 f. 

*ExxAnaota, see under Church. 

Employment, worldly, i. 
215 f., 381 f, 

Epictetus, i. 266. 

Episcopate, see under Bishop. 

Episcopate, monarchical, i. 279 f., 
431, 454 £.; ii. 57 f. 

Essential Christianity, i. 
109 f., 397; ii. 145 f., 467. 


48, 








193, | 





GENERAL INDEX 


Eusebius, i. 94 (on name of 
“Christian’’), 129 (on Jesus), 
284 (on Christianity); ii. 86 f., 
179 ff (on spread of Christi- 
anity), 191, 257 f., 269. 

Evangelists, i. 401, 419, 423 f., 
431, 437. 

Exorcists, i, 152 f., 159 f. 

Expansion of Christianity, stages 
in the, ii. 122, 144 f., 182, 
422, 

Extension of Christianity, 
rapidity of, ii. 466 f. 


Faith, power of blind, i. 278 f. 

Festivals, pagan, i. 255, 376 f.; 
ii. 214, 216, 236. 

Florian, St, ii, 378. 

Foreign churches, care for, i. 
220 f. 

“Friends,” use of term, ii. 25 f. 


Galen, i. 266 f., 338, 339. 

« Galileazis,” i 97> ijt 

Games, the heathen, i. 376 f.; 
it, S51 f. 

Gnosticism (see also Syncretism), 
i, 30, 112 f, 141 f£., 290 f,, 
296 f., 308, 353; ii, 229 f,, 
371. 

Gospel, individual and social, i. 
184 f,; ii, 48 f. 

Guardian spirits, belief in, i. 167; 
il. 40, 44, etc, 


Healing, Christianity as the 
Gospel of, i. 121 f. 

Heathen, missions to, i. 54 f,, 
108 f.; ii. 170 f. 

Hellenism, influence of, i. 19 f., 
v4 f, 112 f£., 454; ii, 129 f, 
136 f., 302, 326 f. 341 f, 
349 f., 447 £, 463. 


| Hellenists, in Jerusalem, i. 55 f. 


Heresy and heretics, i. 312 f,; 
ii, 62 f., 293, 443 f. 


GENERAL INDEX 


Hermas, i. 117 f., 197 f., 425- 
429, 445 £., 468; ii. 381, 383, 
391. 

Heroes, spiritual, i. 272, 450; 
ii, 8, 54. 

Hippolytus, i. 162, 203, 311, 
313, 331; ii. 116, 157, 176, 
239, 290, 347 f. 

Holiness, development of the 
idea of, i. 265 f.; ii. 8, 9. 

Hospitality, i. 219 f. 

Hypsistarii, i. 3; ii. 327, 341. 


Idolatry, attacks on, i. 98 f., 367. 

Ignatius, i. 236 f., 289, 406 f.; 
ii, 52, 89, 98 £, 223 f, 236, 
383. 

Imitation of Christ, i. 107. 

Immorality, crusade against, i. 
151; ii. 441 f. 

Impostors, Christian, i. 443, 480 f. 

Inscriptions, i. (p. ix.), 3, 208, 
4123 ii. 39, 41 £., 185, 192 f., 
196 f., 243, 275, 336, 358, 
362 £, 370, 378, 421, 434. 

Israel, the true, i. 301 f. 

Ireneus, i. 82 (on Old Testa- 
ment), 165 f. (on demons), 
255, 256 (on charismatic gifts) ; 
ii. 75 £., 174 f£., 308, 400, 402 
ff. 

Itinerants, i. 66 f., 428 f., 436 f., 
453, 462 f. 


James, the Lord’s brother, i. 
50, 51. 

Jesus, relavives of, ii. 243, 247, 
2st 

Jesus Christ and the universal 
mission, i. 40 f. 

Jesus Christ, his preaching, i. 
ESI) fi: 

Jewish Christians, i. 68 f., 72 f. 

Jews, attitude of, i. 66 f. 

Jews, mission to the, i. 50 f., 
106 f. 


Jews, persecutions by, i. 3, 66; | 


ii. 193. 


475 


Jews at Rome, i. 5 f. 336 f.; 
ii. 192 f. 

John’s Gospel, i. 46 f., 83 f., 
298, 306 f, 317, 479; ii. 
137. 

Judaism, a universal religion, i. 
11 f., 392. 

Judaism and public opinion, i. 
336 f. 

Judaism, its numbers, i. 10 f.; 





ii. 174, ete. 

Judaism and its propaganda, i. 
14 f. 

Judaism and the State, i. 2 f., 
323 f. 

Julian, i. 351; ii. 5, 451, ete. 

Justin, i. 77-80 (on Jews), 
108 f., 164 f. (on demons), 
189, 264 (on Christian morals), 
284, 291 (on angels), 292, 
311, 319, 327 (on Christian 
loyalty), 355, 356, and 489 
(his conversion), 448, 449, 
463 f. (a traveller), 490; ii. 
173 (on spread of Chris- 
tianity), 383 (his trial). 


Labour, emphasis on duty of, 
Lj215, .f. 

Latin Christianity, ii. 462-464. 
Letters, function of Christian, 
see under Catholic epistles. 
Literature, circulation of, i. 462 f. 
Love, Christian, i. 213 f., 239 f. ; 


ii. 9, 49. 

Lucian,’ i. 134,235 £5 1 128, 
ete. 

Luther, i. 15. 


Luxury, i. 198, 380. 
Lydia, ii. 221. 


Magic, i. 292 f.; ii, 139. 

+ Marcion, i. 64, 81, 299; ii. 383, 

AAS f. 

| Manicheans, i. 393 f.; ii. 296 f., 
4A5, 

Marriages, mixed, 
235 f, 


il. 


ay Gg ck 





476 GENERAL INDEX 


Martyrs, i. 264 f., 368 f., 458 £; | Pagan elements in Christianity, 
ii, 120 f£., 178, 205, 310 f, | i. 291 f, 395; ii. 327 f, $41, 


343 f., 351 £., 408, 413 f. 349 f., 417 £, 437 £, 441 f. 
MaOyrai, ii. 1 f. “Pagan,” origin of term, 1. 
Medicinal metaphors, i. 131 f. SVE 2a 
Melito, i. 328 f., 465; ii, 151. Paul, i. 53 f., 69 'f., 185);4020ns 
Methods of Christian propa- ii. 39°f., 187, ete. 

ganda, i. 102 f., 473 f.; ii. | Pentecost, ii. 160. 

46 f. Persecutions, i. 178, 201 f, 
Metropolitans, ii. 64 f., 389, ete. 229 f., 323 f.; ii. 112, 400 f. 
Military class, the, i. 385 f.; ii. | Peter, i 57, 70 f.; ii 39 f, 

204 f., 448 f. ete. 

Military metaphors, i. 317 f.; | Philosophers, Christian, i. 447 

ii. 20 f., 415. f.; ii, 188. 

Miracles, i. 257; ii. 70. Philosophers, pagan, see Celsus 
Missionaries, the Christian, 1, and Porphyry. 

398 f. Philosophie schools, i. 447 i 
Missionary preaching, i. 15, i 457 f. 

104 f.; ii. 145 f. Philosophy, Christian view of, 
Mithraism, i. 321, 461 ; ii. 447 f. i. 458, 480 f. 

Monasticism, ii. 229, 316, 417. Philosophy, Judaism a, i. 14. 
Monotheism, i. 36 f., 282 f., 375. | Ilurrod, see under Believers. 





Morality, i. 260 f., 316, 488 f.; | Plagiarisms, i. 318 f. 


ii, 54. Pliny, i. 266 f. ; ii. 116 £, 0725) 
Mysteries, the Christian, i. 286 f., 331. 

485 f. Polemic, anti-Christian, i. 338 f. ; 
Mysteries, pagan, i. 35, 486. ii, 97 f. 


Political standpoint of Christians, 
i. 303 £., 323 f. 

Polytheism, i. 26 f., 170, 364 f. 

Poor, care of the, i. 190 f. 

Porphyry, i. 126, 350 f., 396, 
ASA; ii, 129-4, 120it 

Presbyters, i. 242, 246, 450 f.; 
ii, 61 f., 65 f., 343. 

Priesthood, i. 394. 

Prisoners, care for, i. 203 f. 


Names of Christians, ii. 35 f., 
263. 

Narcissiani, ii. 196. 

“‘Nazarenes,’ i. 53; ii. 5. 

Neoplatonism, i. 393 f.; ii. 136 f. 

Nero, ii. 116, 163. 

Number of Christians (see also 
under various provinces), ii. 





geo ht. Prophets, Christian, i. 142, 415. 
Prophets, Jewish, i. 142, 415. 
Oathis, i:°372;°385°f. Prophets, women, i. 166, 443; 
Offices, civil, i. 384 f.; ii 187 f, | i. 228 £, 340. 
201 f., 282 f., 374. Proselytes, i. 12 f., 54, 58 f., 


Officials, support of Christian, 488. 
i. 195 f.; ii. 386, 411. 

Ordination, ii. 67 f. .| Quakers, the, ii. 34. 

‘‘ Orientalism,” i. 30 f. 

Origen, i. 178 f., 453 f., 492; | Race, Christianity the third 
i, 140-f., 277 f,, ete. human, i. 300 f. 


GENERAL INDEX 


Raising 
M55: f. 

Rationalism, early Christian, i. 
284 

Reactions against Christianity, 
Jewish, i. 57 f., 64 f., 409 f. 

Reactions, pagan, i. 29; 
at. 

Recompense, idea of, i. 116 f. 

Resurrection of Christ, i. 115 f. 

Riches, i. 117 f., 183 f. 

Roman Christianity, prestige of, 
i. 230 f., 466 f, 470 f.; ii. 
379 f., 445, 453, 458, 459. 


the dead, i. 166, 


ins 


—*‘ Sacrament,” ii. 22. 

_.Sacraments, attractiveness of, i. 
286 f. 

‘Saints, : i. 7 f, 

“Sect,” ii. 13. 

Sick, visiting the, i. 150, 163. 

Simon Magus, adherents of, ii. 
162-165, 256. 

Sins, forgiveness of, i. 268 f. 

Slaves, Christian, i. 207 f. (ep. 
p. 24). 

Speculation, early Christian, i. 
pet. 

Spirit, activities of the Holy, i. 
254 f. 

Sate, the, i. 
Sit f. 

Statistics of Judaism, i. 8 f. 

Statistics of Christianity, ii. 60 
f., 321 f., 387, 419 f,, 452 

Stephen, i. 52 f., 55 f. 

«‘ Strangers and pilgrims, 
f.; ii. 13, 55. 

Supper, the Lord’s, i. 286 f. ; ii. 
Dos 

Symbolism, i. 29 f., 289 f. 

Synagogue, Jewish, LOU Eas; 
th ie LES, 192. 

- Synagogue,’ tit, ULE 

Synods, church, ii. 59 f., 328 f. 


322 £., 342 f., 


Syncretism, i. 37 f., 296 f., 391 f. ; 


ii. 327 f., 467. 
Suwrnp, i. 124, 129 f. 


5 315 | 





477 


Tacitus’ 1.5 fF inots & 

Tatian, i. 168, 262, 307, 355 f,, 
370 f., 448; ii. 293 f., 446. 

Teacher, Christ the, ii. 1 f. 

Teachers, Christian, i. 320 f., 
416 f., 419 f., 444 f.; ii, 357 f. 

Tertullian, i. 38, 114, 139, 151, 
153 f. (on demons), 189, 199, 
202, 205 ff., 216 f., 259, 261, 
275, 276 (on inquiry), 292, 
307, 322-324 (on the State), 
329, 340 f. (defending 
Christians), 354, 361 (on Old 
Testament), 365 ff. (on poly- 
theism), 372 f., 442, 455 f, 
458,479 f., 485 f. (on baptism), 
490; ii. 17, 21 f. (military 
language), 37, 117, 118, 121 f,, 
153 f. (on expansion of Christi- 
anity), 187, 207 f. (on soldiers), 
225 f. (on women), 230 f., 329, 
409, 412 f., 450 (on Mithra). 

Testament, the Old, i. 77 f., 
353 f. 

Thaumaturgus, Gregory, ii. 350 f. 

| Theatres, i. 376 f. 

Themison, i. 429. 

Thomas, Acts of, ii. 
293. 

Travels, Christian, i. 21 

Trinity, idea of the, i. 39, 111, 
482, 

Twelve apostles, the, i. 84-85, 
438 f.; ii. 166. 


278, 279, 


9983. 


> ~~ 


Universalism, Christian, i. 40 f. ; 


li. 145. 


| Valentinus, i. 290, 327, 464; ii. 


14, 30, 33, 186, 291, 307. 

_ Villages, Christians in (see also 
under Chor-episcopi), ii. 23, 
268, 343, 446, 456. 


| Visions, i. 251-f., 481 f.; ii. 229, 


348. 
Wealth, Christianity and, 
under Luxury. 


see 


478 GENERAL INDEX 


Widows, care of, i. 149, 197 f. Work, obligation of, i. 215 f. 

“Wisdom” (seeunder Gnosticism | World, Christian view of the 
and Hellenism), i. 274 f., 295 f. history of the, i. 302 f. 

Women, Christianity and, i. 460, | World, stern attitude to the, i. 


479, 492; ii. 183 f., 217 f,, 118. 
285. Worldliness, see under Pagan 


Women, Callistus and, i. 211, | elements. 
B12 sai, 180; 238. f., 385. Worship, public, ii. 51 f. 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Abbadis, see Vade. 

Abbir Cellense, ii. 425. 
Germaniciana, 

li. 425, 

maius, ii. 425. 
»» Minus li. 425. 

Abitini, i. 456, 492; 
ii, 425, 433. 

Abyssinia, see Ethiopia. 

Acbia, ii. 426. 

Acci, ii. 439. 

Achaia, i. 228; ii. 78, 
89 f., 460 f. 

Acinipo, ii. 440. 

Adana, ii. 325. 

Ad Badias, ii. 431. 

Ad Maiores, ii. 431. 

Ad Medera, ii. 426. 

Adraa, ii. 254. 

Adriani, ii. 355. 

Adrianopolis, ii. 375. 

Advingi, ii. 440. 

HEigea, ii. 234. 

gina, ii. 371. 

/Elia, see Jerusalem. 

Africa, i. 4 f., 464 f. ; 
ii, 28,101 £, 411 f., 
460, ete. 

Agbia, ii. 426. 

Agee, ii. 325 f. 

Agen, ii. 405. 

Agense Oppidum, ii. 
426. 


3) 


33 


Aggya, ii. 426. 
Aila, ii. 259, 267. 
Ain Kebira, ii. 434. 
Ajune, ii. 440. 





Akmonia, ii. 358, 363. 

Alasus, ii. 273. 

Alatina, ii. 433. 

Albano, ii. 392. 

Albans, St, ii. 410. 

Alexandreiopolis, 
307 f. 

Alexandria, i. 5 f., 212, 
448 f, (school at), | 
459; ii. 189 f., 209 
f., 234, 244, 262 f.,| 
305 f., 308, 320 f.,| 
458. 

Alexandria, canton of, 
js Oc 

Alexandria parva, ii. 
324. 

Alex-Island, ii. 312. 


il. 








Alistra, ii. 369. 

Alphokranon, ii. 318. 

Alutina, see Alatina. 

Amasia, ii. 214, 335, 
348, 361. 

Amastris, i. 248; ii. 
79 f., 246, 322 f., 
347. 

Ambiensis, ii. 433. 

Amblada, ii. 363. 


Amida (= Diarbekir), 


ii. 297. 
Amiens, ii. 405. 
Amisus, i. 2; ii. 244, 
3a2- 
Amiternum, ii. 392. 
Ammedera, ii. 426. 
Ammoniace, ii. 310. 





Amorion, ii. 363. 
479 


Amphipolis, ii, 243. 
Anacipolis (?), ii. 315. 
Aneea, ii. 367. 
Anazarbus, ii. 325. 
Anchialus, ii. 246, 375. 
Ancona, ii. 393. 
Anvyray. a” 073, 8s 
103, 246, 332, 359 
f., 456. 
Anceyyra ferrea, ii. 367. 
Andalusia, ii. 436. 
Andrapolis, ii. 299. 
Andujar, ii. 440. 
Anea, ii. 259, 267 f. 
Angers, ii. 405. 
Anim, ii. 260 f., 267. 
Antaradus, ii. 273. 
Anthedon, ii. 265. 
Antinoe; ii. 312° €, 
317, 319, 322. 
Antioch (Isaurian), ii. 


369. 

13 =, (Carian), «ai. 
367. 

» © (Pisidian),~ 1. 
8. cif cin. 


243, 363. 
(Syrian), i. 2 
f., 14, 59 f., 
68 f., 86 f., 
227 f£., 236 
f, 421 f, 
454 f., 463; 
ii. 89 f., 99 
f, 243 f, 
276 f., 387, 
466, ete. 


3) 


a 


480 


Antipyrgus, ii. 319, 
Antium, ii. 391. 
Apamea (Bithyn.), ii. 
SiO 1D 
i (Phrygian), ii. 
245, 333, 
362 f. 
3, (Pisidian), -ii. 
304. 
5 (oynian),i 71, 
465; ii. 278, 
287 f., 361. 
Aphaka, ii. 275. 
Aphrodisias, ii. 243. 
Apollonia, ii. 367. 


Apollonias (Bithyn.), 
iL.) SDDe 
+ (Carian), ii. 


368. 
Aprocavistus, ii. 288. 
Apt, ii. 404. 

Aptungi, ii. 432. 

Apulia, ii. 393. 

Aque Regie, ii. 428. 

Aque ‘Tibilitane, ii. 
432. 

Aquila, ii. 393. 

Aquileia, ii. 397 f. 

Aquitania, ii. 74, 405. 

Arabia, i. 2315 ii. 254, 
299, 300 f., 389, 
461. 

ATAmue tee > 62/2: 

Arbela, ii. 298. 

Arbokadama, ii. 288. 

Ardabau, ii. 245, 333, 
362. 

Areopolis, see Rabba. 

Arethusa, ii. 288 f. 

Argos, ii. 372. 

Ariace, ii. 159 f. 

Ayicia, ii. 391. 





| 
| 





Arragon, ii. 436. 

Arsinoé, ii. 312 f., 318. | 

Arycanda, ii. 125, 336, 
368. 

Ascoli Pic., ii. 393. 

Ascalon, ii. 259 f. 

Ashdod, ii. 243. 

Asia- Minor. 2 £, 
327 ; ii. 174, 326 f., 
457, 464, 465, ete. 

“Asker, see Sichar. 

Aspendus, ii. 369. 

Assisi, ii. 393. 

Assuras, ii. 426. 

Assus, ii. 243. 

Assyria, see Syria. 

Astaroth, ii. 252. 

Astigi, ii. 440. 

AStigat, ii. 345 f. 

Asturica (Astorga), ii. 
436, 4377. 

Ategua (Ateva), ii. 
440. 

Athens, i. 243, 334 f., 
475 £.3 ii, 243, 372 
Pele, 

Athribitiec canton, ii. 
307 f., 318. 

Attalia, ii. 243, 369. 

Attica, ii. 372. 

Augsburg, ii. 234, 490. 

Aulana, ii. 260. 

Aulona (see Anea), ii. 
269. 

Aurelianopolis, ii. 367. 

Aureus Mons, ii. 392. 

Ausafa, ii. 426. 

Ausuaga, ii. 426. 

Autumni, see Aptungi. 





Autun, ii. 107, 404 f. 
Auxerre, ii. 405. 
Auzia, i. 43 ii. 434. 


Arles, ii. 74 f., 403, ete. | Auzuaga, ii. 426. 
Armenia, ii. 79 f., 105 | Avellino, ii. 393. 


f. 342 f., 458, etc. 
Arnem, ii. 252. 


Axiupolis, ii. 377. 
Axum, ii. 251, 299. 


Arpiensium civitas, ii. | Azani, ii. 362, 
| Azotus, ii. 259. 


393. 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Babylonia, i. 2 f.; ii. 
243. 

Baccano _(Baccanas), 
li. 393. 


Bactria, ii. 

Bade, ii. 431. 

Badis, ii. 431. 

Beetica, ii. 439 ff. 

Bagai, ii. 426. 

Bagis, ii. 367. 

Bakatha(Bakathus), ii. 
303. 

Balanee, ii. 288. 

Balkan peninsula, ii. 
371 £., 396. 

Ballis, ii. 433. 

Bamacorra, ii. 426. 

Barata, ii. 369. 

Barbe, ii. 440. 

Barbary, ii. 
435. 

Barca, ii. 440. 

Barcelona, ii. 439. 

Baris, ii. 364. 

Barké, ii. 319. 

Basanitis, ii. 254 f. 

Basti, ii. 439. 

Batana, ii. 298. 

Batanea, ii. 254 f. 

Bataneza, near Cesar. 
Pal., ii. 260, 268. 

Beauvais, ii. 405. 

Belgica, ii. 400 f., 461 
f. 


AV ts 


Beneventum, ii. 392. 
Bereitan (Berothai), ii. 
3038. 
Berenicé, ii. 86 f., 313 
f., 319, 323. 
Beretane (?), ii. 303, 
Bergamo, ii. 397. 
Bercea (Maced. ), ii. 222, 
243, 372. 
» . (Syrian) sem 
251 f., 290. 
Berytus, ii: 27apeas 
292. . 
Bescera, ii, 431, 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Bethabara, ii. 260, 
268. 

Beth Gubrin, ii. 259, 
269. 


Bethlehem, i. 
259, 267. 
Bethphage ii. 261. 
Bettona, ii. 393. 
Biltha, ii. 426. 
Bisica Lucana, ii. 427. 
Bithynia, ii. 244,353 f., 
447, 457, 467, ete. 
Black Sea, i. 3; ii. 
378 f., 461. 
Blaundus, see Standus. 
Bobba, see Obba. 


2209's‘ ai. 


Bolitana  civitas, ii. 
433. 

Bologna, ii. 397 f. 

Bomotheus, ii. 319. 

Bordeaux, i. 20; ii. 
405. 

Bosphorus, ii. 80 f., 
378 f. 


Bostra, i. 463 ; ii. 256, 
281, 300 f. 
Bourges, ii, 405. 
Brescia, ii. 397. 
Brindissi, ii. 380. 
Britain, see England. 
Bruzos, ii. 362. 
Bubastis, ii. 318. 
Bubiduna, ii, 433. 
Bucolia, ii. 322. 
Bulla, ii, 426. 
Buruc, ii. 427. 
Busiris, ii. 315. 
Buslacena, ii. 427. 
Buthrotus, ii. 375. 
Byblus, ii. 275 f. 
Byzacium, ii. 414 f. 
Byzantium, i. 464; ii. 
246, 375. 


Cabra, ii. 440. 
Cerleon, ii. 410. 


Cesaraugusta, ii. 437, 


438 f. 


Cesarea (Bith.) ii. 355. 


»,  (Cappad.) i.| 


463; ii. 79 
f. 2101 £, 
338 f. 


(Mauret.), i. 
4; ii. 432. 
(Palest:). ii: 

243, 256 f., 
260 f., 265 
f., 461, ete. 
Philippi, see 
Paneas. 
Cesena, ii. 392. 
Cagliari, ii. 393. 
Calabria, ii. 80 f. 
Calagurris - Fibularia, 
li. 440. 
Calahorra, ii. 438. 
Calama, ii. 423, 432. 
Camalodunum, ii. 411. 
Campsas (?), ii. 355. 
Capernaum, ii. 261. 
Capitolias, ii. 259. 
Cappadocia, i. 2 f. 
(Jews in), 205; ii. 
229, 232 f., 243, 
338 f., 379. 
Capsa, ii. 427. 
Capua, ii. 392. 
Caria, i. 2; ii. 367 f. 


3) 


3) 





Carpi, ii. 427. 
Carrhe, ii. 216, 294 f. 
Carthage, i. 4, 213 f., 
235, 346; ii. 156, 
246, 412 f., 418 f., 
435, 440, 455. 
Carula, ii. 440. 
Carthagena, ii. 439. 
Cartenna, ii. 433. 
Case Nigre, ii. 432. 
Castra Galbe, ii. 427. 
Castellona, ii. 440. ~ 
Castulo, ii. 439 f. 
Catalonia, ii. 436. 
Catania, ii. 394. 
Cazlona, ii. 439. 
 Cedia, ii. 427. 





481 


Celts, ii. 75 ff., 152 ff, 
402 f. 
Cenchree, ii. 243, 374. 
Centurionis, ii. 432. 
Cephalitana possessio, 
li. 434. 
Cephallenia, ii. 371. 
Chaduthi, ii. 343. 
Chalcedon, ii. 355, 
Chalcis, ii. 372. 
Chalons, ii. 405. 
Charisphone, ii. 343. 
Chartres, ii. 405. 
Chenebri, ii. 319. 
Chenoboscium, ii. 316. 
Cherchel, ii. 433. 
Cherson, ii. 379. 
Chios, ii. 370. 
Choraba, see Kochaba. 
Chullabi, ii. 427. 
Cibaliana, ii. 427. 
Cibalis, ii. 377. 
Cicabis, ii. 420, 433. 
Cilicia, i. 3 f. (Jews in), 
59 f., 203, 412; ii. 
324 f., 359 f. 
Cillium, ii. 424. 
Cirta, i. 4; ii. 422, 427. 
Civita Vecchia, ii. 393. 
Claudiopolis, ii. 369. 
Cleopatris, ii. 318. 
Clermont, ii. 403, 405. 
Clusium, ii. 394. 
Cnidos, i. 2. 
Cnossus, ii. 246, 370, 
Sy 1. 
Coele-Syria, see Syria. 
Cologne, ii. 246, 408 f. 
Colonia (Cappad.), ii. 
338. 


Colosse, ii. 220, 243, 
361. 


.Commagene, ii. 326 f. 


Como, ii. 397. 
Complutum, ii. 438. 
Constantinople, ii. 328, 
aoe 
Copts, ii. 300, 321. 
31 


482 


Corcyra, ii. 370. 


Cordova, ii. 380, 438, | 


439 f. 

Corinth,i.188 f., 244f., 
443; ii. 243, 372 f. 

Crete, i. 59 f., 248; 
ii, 79 f, 243, 370 
i 

Ctesiphon, see Sel- 
eucia. 

Cuicul, ii. 426, 427. 

Cuma, ii. 394. 

Curubis, ii. 427. 

Cuse, ii. 317. 

Cyprus, 1. 2.08, (50mk. 
ii. 291 f., 458. 

Cyrene  (Cyrenaica, 
Pentapolis), i. 2 f. ; 
ii. 80 f., 246, 304 f. 
322 f. 

Cyrrus, ii. 288 f. 

Cyzikus, ii. 367. 


Dacia, ii. 157 f., 371 £, 
448, 

Dalmatia, ii. 376 f., 
461. 

Damascus, i. 4 f.; ii. 

243, 275, 276. 

Dara, ii. 298. 

Dardania, ii. 80 f., 375, 
461. 

Darnis (Dardanis), ii. 
319. 

Debeltum, ii. 84, 246, 
ila 

Decapolis, ii. 252 f. 

Deir Ali, ii. 275 f. 

Delos, i. 2. 

Der ’at, ii. 254, 

Derbe, ii. 243, 363. 

Diana (Veteranorum), 
427. 

Didensis, ii. 427. 

Die (Gaul), ii. 
404 f. - 

Digne, ii. 405. 

Dikella, ii. 319. 


380, 





Diocesarea (Cappad.), 
see Nazianzus. 
Diocesarea (Isaur.), ii. 
369. 
ea (Palest.), 
i: 261 f, 
Diodoris, ii. 298. 
Dionysiana, ii. 437. 
Dioscome, ii. 362. 
Diospolis (Egypt), ii. 
Sins 


3 (Palest.), see 
Lydda. 
Diospontus, ii. 348, 
361. 
Dokimion, ii. 358. 
Doliche, ii. 288. 
Dorostorium, ii. 376. 
Doryleum, ii. 362. 
Drepana, ii. 355. 
Drizipara (Drusipara), 
ey Rat Ase 


Drona, ii. 440. 


Duja, see Die. 


Eauze, ii. 405. 
Eedaumana, ii. 361. 
Edessa, i. 84, 122; ii. 
103, 245, 278, 292 
f., 353, 410, 458. 
Egypt, i. 2 f. (Jews 
in), 162 f, 451 f. 
(teachers in) ; ii. 90 
f., 246, 304 f, 458. 
Elatea, ii. 372. 
Elepel, ii. 440. 
Eleutheropolis, ii. 259, 
263, 267. 
Eliocrota, ii. 440. 
Elvira, 4. 457214;,.217 ; 
ii. 439 f. 
Emmaus, ii. 253, 259, 
266. 
Embrun, ii. 408. 
Emerita, see Merida. 
Emesa, ii. 91 f., 274. 
England, ii. 410, 411, 
448, 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Epagro, ii. 440. 
Ephesus, i. 237 f.3 ii. 
29, 79 f., 243, 365 
f., etc. 
Epibata, ii. 375. 
Epiphania (Cilic.), ii. 
325, 361. 
5s (Syrian), 
ii. 288. 
Epirus, ii. 375, 461. 
Esbus, ii. 303. 
Ethiopia, ii. 102, 160, 
323 f. 
Eubeea, ii. 372, 375. 
Eucarpia, ii. 362. 
Eumenea (Phryg.), ii. 
245, 333, 358 f, 
362, ete. 
‘‘ Rurope,” i..;8Omsee 
871, £,6m 
Evora, ii. 439. 


Faénza, ii. 392. 

Fano, ii. 394. 

Faro, ii. 439. 
Ferentino, ii. 394. 
Fermo, ii. 394. 
Flavias, ii. 325. 
Florence, ii. 392 f. 
Forum Claudii, ii. 392. 


Fruschka Gora, _ ii. 
378. 

Fundi, ii. 392. 

Furni, ii. 103, 422, 
427. 


Gabbala, ii. 288. 
Gabrum, ii. 440. 
Gabula, ii. 288. 
Gadamana, ii. 361. 
Gadara, ii. 259, 267. 
Gadiaufala, ii. 427. 
Geeta, ii. 393. 
Gaetuli, ii. 157. 
Gatfsa, ii. 427. 
Gage, ii. 369. 
Galatia, i. 228; ii. 81 
f., 243, 356 f. 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Galilee, i. 5335 ii. 
249 f. 
Gallicia, ii. 439. 
Gangra, ii. 347. 
Garbe, ii. 432. 
Gaul, i. 4, 20; ii. 73 
£, 106 f,. 152 £, 
399 f., 460, 461. 
Gaza; ii. 91 f., 259 f., 
262 f. 
Gazaufala, ii, 427. 
Gele, ii. 296. 
Gemella, ii. 440. 
Gemelle, ii. 427. 
Genoa, ii. 396, 397. 
Georgia, ii. 285, 353. 
Gerasa, ii. 303. 
Germanicia, ii. 288. 
Germaniciana, ii. 428. 
Germany, ii. 152 f., 
408 f., 448, 461. 
Gerunda (Gerona), ii. 
439. 
Gibar, see Girba. 
Gindarus, ii. 288. 
Girba (Girha), ii. 428. 
Girgenti, ii. 394. 
Gor, ii. 428. 
Gorduba, ii. 428. 
Gorthyna, i. 2, 247; ii. 
78 £., 246, 370, 371. 
Gothia, ii. 80 f., 378 f. 
Granada, ii. 436, 440. 


5; 


Greece, ii. 59, 188, 
373 f., 460. 

Greater Greece, see 
Italy. 


Grenoble, ii. 405. 

Grimenothyre, ii. 362. 

Guadix, ii. 439. 

Gurgites, ii. 438. 

Gustra (= Ostra), ii. 
297. 


Hadrianopolis, ii. 303. 

Hadrumetum, i. 4; ii. 
414, 424, 

Halicarnassus, i. 2. 








Harbath Glal., ii. 298. 
Harran, see Carrhe. 
Helenopolis, see Dre- 
pana. 
Helenopontus, ii. 357. 
Heliopolis (Egyptian), 
. S28: 
Heliopolis — (Pheeni- 
cian), ii. 274 f. 
Henchir-el-Atech., ii. 
43.4, 
Henchir-Harat, ii. 430. 
Henschir Tambra, ii. 
428. 

Heraclea, ii. 375. 
Heracleopolis magna 
et parva, ii. 317. 
Hermethes (?), ii. 317. 
Hermopolis magna et 

parva, <i STA et. 
ey Wigs 
Hierapolis (Phrygian), 
i. 463, ii. 99, 228, 
342 f. 361. 
Hierapolis (Syrian), ii. 
288. 
Hierocasarea, ii. 367. 
Hieropolis, ii. 245. 
Hippo; si. 240 (EL. 
Regius, ii. 428; H. 
Diarrhytus, ii. 428). 
Horrea Celia, ii. 428. 
Huasades, ii. 369. 
Humanades, ii. 369. 
Hybla maior, ii. 394. 
Hypapa, ii. 367. 
Hypselis, ii. 319. 
Hyrgal District, ii. 
362. 


Iberia, ii. 85 f., 353. 

Iconium, i. 453; ii. 
227, 243, 358, 363. 

Igabrum, ii. 440. 

Tlipula, ii. 440. 

Ilium, ii. 367. 

Ilium aliud, ii. 367. 

Illiberis, ii. 440. 








483 


Illiturgi, ii. 440. 

Illyria, ii. 244. 

Imola, ii. 397. 

India, ii. 299, 304, 461. 

Ionopolis, ii. 347. 

Ipagrum, ii. 439. 

Ireland, ii. 417. 

Irenopolis, see Nero- 
nias. 

Isauria, ii. 368 f. 

Islands, Greek, ii. 370, 
371, 460. 

Italica, near Seville, ii. 
436, 439. 

Italy, i. 20f. 5 ii. 458 f. 
(See also Upper 
Italy, ii. 395 f.). 


Iturea, ii. 254. 


Jamnia, ii. 259 f. 

Jattir, ii. 260 f., 267. 

Jericho, ii. 259 f. 

Jerusalem, i. 49 f., 
409 f.; ii, 243, 247 
f., 256 £, 413. 

Joppa, ii. 221, 243, 
259, 266. 

Judea, i. 50 f.; ii. 96, 
249 f. 

Juliopolis, ii. 361. 


Kalytis (Kanytis ?), ii. 
364. 


Kamulia, ii. 338. 
Kariathaim, ii.303. 
Karina, ii. 366. 
Karnaim, ii. 252. 
Karnaim Astaroth, ii. 
254. 
Karystus, ii. 372. 
Kaschkar, ii. 299. 
Kastabala, ii. 325. 
Kephro, ii. 313. 
Keramon Agora, 
363. 
Kerioth, ii.- 303. 
Kerkuk, ii. 298. 
Khoba, ii. 254. 


ii. 


484 


Kibyra, ii. 368. 
Kina, ii. 361. 
Kius, ii. 355. 
Kochaba, ii. 249 f. 
Kokab el Hawi, ii. 253. 
Kokab, ii. 253. 
Kolluthion, ii. 313. 
Koma, ii. 319. 
Komana (Cappad.), ii. 
99, 338. 
(Pontus), ii. 
348. 
Koptus, ii. 317. 
Koronia, ii. 372. 
Koropissus, ii. 369. 
Kos, i. 2, 130 ;-ii. 317, 
370. 
Kotizium, ii. 362. 
Kumane, ii. 245, 333, 
358, 362. 
Kurejat, ii, 303. 
Kybistra, ii. 338. 
Kynopolis (= Kunos), 
sup. et inf., ii. 317 f. 
Kysis, ii. 314. 


3) 


Lacedemon, i. 
246, 372, 374. 

Lamasba, ii. 428. 

Lambesa, ii, 414 f., 
424, 

Lampe, ii. 362. 

Lampsacus, ii. 41, 234, 
368, 

Lancia, ii. 436. 

Langres, ii. 405, 

Laodicea, ii. 96, 99, 
243, 361. 

Laodicea (Syr.), ii. 289. 

Laranda, i. 4533. ii. 
358, 369. 

Lares, ii. 428. 

Larisa, ii. 288. 

Larissa, ii. 246, 374. 

Lasom, ii. 298. 

Laureacum, see Lorsch. 

Laurun, ii. 440. 

Ledre, ii. 292. 


Ree abla 





Legionum ii. 
410. 
Legisvolumen, ii. 432. 
Lemnos, ii. 370. 
Leon, ii. 436, 437 f. 
Leontion, ii. 394. 
Leontopolis, ii. 318. 
Leptis magna, ii. 425, 
428. 
> Minus, il. 428. 
Letopolis, ii. 317. 
Libya, ii. 85 f., 304 f., 
SLs 
Liguria, ii. 396. 
Lilybeeum, ii. 394. 
Limata, ii. 432. 
Limene, ii. 363. 
Limoges, ii. 403, 405. 
Lincoln, ii. 411. 
London, ii. 411. 
Lorea, ii. 439 f. 
Lorsch, ii. 378. 
Lucar la Mayor, S., ii. 
440, 
Lucca, ii. 394. 
Lugdunensis, ii. 404 f. 
Lunda, ii. 362. 
Luperciana, ii. 428. 
Lusitania, ii. 437. 
Lycaonia, ii. 356 f. 
Lycia, i. 2; ii. 368 f. 
Lycopolis, ii. 317, 319. 
Lydda, ii. 259, 266. 
Lydiay ils dats 
364 f. 
Lyons, i. 4; ii. 74 fi, 
246, 399 f. 
Lystra, ii. 243, 363. 


urbs, 


il. 


Macedonia, i. 228; ii. 
50, 51, 80 f., 460. 
Macedonopolis, ii. 295. 

Macomades, ii. 428. 

Mactaris, ii. 428. 

Madaba, ii. 303. 

Madaura, ii. 246, 413f., 
424, 

Madili, see Midila. 








GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Magnesia, i. 237 f.; 
li, 245. 

Magydus, ii. 253, 
369. 


Mailand, ii. 397 f. 
Mainz, ii. 246, 408 f. 
Majuma, ii. 262. 
Malaga, ii. 440. 
Malta, ii. 243, 394. 
Malus, ii. 103, 361. 
Mamre, ii. 261. 
Manganea, see Bata- 
nea. 
Marasch, see German- 
icia. 
Marazana, ii. 428, 
Marcelliana, ii. 429. 
Marcianopolis, ii. 376. 
Mareotic district, ii. 
318 f. 
Margaritatum, ii, 288. 
Marmarika, ii. 319. 
Marseilles, ii. 399 f. 
Martos, ii. 439. 
Mascula, ii. 429. 
Mauretania, i. 43 ii. 
414 f., 419, 424 f, 
432, 434, 438, 
461. 
Maximinianopolis 
(Egypt), ii. 317. 
» (Palest.)) iieem 
», (Pamph.), ii. 369. 
Maxula, ii. 433. 
Medicones, ii. 361. 
Media, i. 2; ii. 296. 
Medila, see Midila. 
Megalopolis, ii. 372. 
Megara, ii, 372. 
Melitene, ii. 206 f., 
213, 245, 289, 342 f. 
Melos, ii. 370. 
Membressa, 
429, 
Memphis, ii. 318 f. 
Mende, ii, 405. 
Mentesa, ii. 439. 
Mercurialis pagus vet- 


ii, 425, 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


eranorum  Medeli- 
tanorum, ii. 429. 
Merida, ii. 436, 437 f. 
Mesopotamia, i. 23; ii. 
245, 295 f. 461. 
Messina, ii. 394. 
” 
372. 
Metelis, ii. 318. 
Metropolis (Isaur.), ii. 
369. 
(Pisid.), ii. 
363. 
Metz, ii. 405. 
Midila, ii. 429. 
Miletus, ii. 243, 368. 
Miley, ii. 429. 
Misgirpa, ii. 429. 
Mitylene, ii. 243. 
Miili, ii. 427. 
Moabitis, ii. 252 f. 
Mexsia, ii. 376 f., 448, 
461. 
Montemayor, ii. 440. 
Montoro, ii, 440, 
Mopsuestia, ii. 325. 
Motella, ii. 362. 
Moxiane, ii. 362. 
Mugue, ii. 429, 
Municipium, ii. 440. 
Murcia, ii. 436, 
Mursa, ii. 377. 
Muzula, ii. 429. 
Myndas, i. 2. 
Myra (Lyc.), ii. 246, 
333, 368. 
Myrsiné, ii. 319. 
Mysia, ii. 364 f. 


9 


Nabatitis, ii. 254. 

Nantes, ii. 405. 

Naples, ii. 246, 391. 

Narbonensis, ii. 82 f., 
402 f. 

Narbonne, ii. 403. 

Naro, i. 4. 

Naupactus, ii, 372. 


(Peloponn. ), ii. | 


| Nilus 





Nazianzus, ii. 338. 
Neapolis (Pisid.), ii. 
363. 


33 
425, 429. 
2 (Zengit.), ii. 
Neapolis = Sichem, ii. 
259. 
Neocesarea (Pont.), ii. 
350 f. 


i (Syr.), ii. 
288. 
|Neronias, ii. 325 f., 
361. 


| Nicewea, ii. 355 f. 


Nikiopolis, ii. 317. 

Nikomedia, i. 463; ii. 
203, 245, $32 f., 
354 f,, 465. 

Nikopolis (Arm.), ii. 


342. 
# (Epir.), © ii. | 
243 £., 375. 


(Palest.) see 


3) 


Emmaus, | 


(Nilopolis), ii. | 


313 f., 317. 
Nisibis, ii. 295. 
Nividunum, ii. 433. 
Nizza, ii. 404. 
Nocera, ii. 394. 
Nola, ii. 394. 
Noricum, ii. 

448. 

Nova (Nova Petra), ii. 

4.29, 

Nova Sparsa, ii. 429. 
Noviodunum, ii. 377, 

433. 

Noyon, ii. 405. 
Numidia, i. 231 f.; ii. 
414 f., 419 f., 460. 


376 f, 


Oasis, small and great, 
i. 317 f. 
Obba, ii. 429. 


Nazareth, ii. 253, 261. Octavum, ii. 429. 


(Tripol.), ii. | 


485 


Oea, i. 43 ii. 425, 429. 

Olympus, ii. 368. 

| Opus, ii. 372. 

Orange, ii. 404. 

| Oriolo, ii. 392. 

Orleans, ii. 405. 

Orléansville, ii. 434. 

Orthesia, ii. 272. 

Osroene, see Edessa. 

Ossigi, ii. 448. 

Ossonova, ii. 439. 

Ossuna (Ursona), 
440. 

Ostia, ii. 392. 

Otrus, ii. 245; 333, 
362. 

Oxyrhynchus, ii. 313 
Sic 


il. 


Padua, ii. 397. 

Page, see Gage. 

Palestine, i. 10 (Jews 
in), 229; i. 247) f., 
460 f. 

Palmyra, ii. 276 f., 284, 
300. 

Paltus, 1.272. 

|Pamphylia, i. 

| 368 f. 

Pandataria, ii. 244. 

'Paneas, i. 1453 ii. 252 
E270: 

Panemon Teichos, ii. 
369. 

Panephysis, ii. 318. 

| Pannonia, ii. 80 f., 376 

| ao 

| Panormus, ii. 394. 

| Paphlagonia, ii. 342 f., 

348. 

Paphos, ii. 243, 291 f. 

Pappa, ii. 364. 

| Paratonium, ii. 319. 

Parembole, ii. 318. 

Parethia (?), ii. 355. 

Paris, ii. 107, 403 f. 

Parium, ii. 245, 332 f., 
364. 


QO. 
oot J 


ii. 





486 


Parnassus, ii. 338. 

Parthia. 2 £54 177, 
299. 

Patara, ii. 368 f. 

Patmos, ii. 370. 

Patras, ii. 372. 

Pavia, ii. 397. 

Pele, ii. 375. 

Pella, ii. 243, 248 f. 


Peloponnesus, ii. 372 f. | 


Pelusium, ii. 318 f. 


Pentapolis, see Cy- 
rene. 
Pepuza, ii. 245, 333, 


362. 
Perea, ii. 254, 259. 
Perdikia, ii. 369. 
Pergamum, i. 2, 130; 
ii. 243, 366 f. 
Pergé, ii. 243, 369. 
Persa = Perra, ii. 298. 
Persia, ‘ii. 103, 205 f., 
461. 
Perugia, ii. 394. 
Petra, ii. 303. 
Pettau, ii. 377. 
Pheeno, i. 203 ; ii. 260, 
268. 
Phakusa, ii. 318. 
Pharbetic district, ii. 
318 f. 
Phaselis, i. 2. 
Phasko, ii. 319. 
Philadelphia (Egypt), 
11. 312k, 
(Arab.), 
li. 303. 
a (Asian), i. 
70, 238 
f. ; ii. 89 
f., 243. 
Phila, ii. 322 f. 
Philippi, i. 246 f. 5 ii. 
195 f., 220 f., 226, 
243, 372. 
Philistia, ii. 461. 


3) 


Philomelium, ii. 245, 


322 f£., 363. 


| Phoenicia, ii. 271 f., 
| 461. 
| Phrebonitic district, ii. 
| SO7GE 
| Phrygia, i. 3 f. (Jews 
in), ii. 228 f., 245 
f., 356 f., 457. 
Phthenegys, ii. 318. 
Phydela, ii. 343. 
Picenum, ii. 392-393. 
Piedmont, ii. 396, 461. 
Pisa, ii. 392. 
Pisidia, ii. 356 f. 
Pityus, ii. 353. 
Platza, ii. 372. 
Pocofeltz, ii. 432. 
Pompeii, ii. 391. 
Pompeiopolis (Cilic.), 
Moos 
sp (Pont.), 
ii. 347. 





Pontia, ii. 244. 


Pontus, i. 224, 248 ;) 
lived (ti. 244, 262, | 
347 f., 457. 


‘Pontus Polemiacus, ii. 


349 f., 357. 
Porthmus, ii. 372. 
Portus, ii. 392. 
Preeneste, ii. 392. 
Proconsularis, 

Africa. 
Prosopitic district, ii. 

307 f. 

Prusa, it. 355. 
Prusa-ally invsoo. 
Prymnessus, ii. 362. 
Ptolemais (Cyren.), ii. 


see 


313 f. 
iS (Phoenic.), 
 Mie43: 
3 (Theb.), ii. 
Sit. 


Puteoli, ii. 243, 391. 
Pydna, ii. 375. 

| 

| Quintianum, ii. 392. 

| Quoturnicensis, ii. 430. 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


| Rabba, ii. 303. 

Raphanee, ii. 288. 

_Raphia, ii. 267. 

Ravenna, ii. 396, 397. 

Regensburg, ii. 409. 

| Resaina, ii. 295. 

| Rheetia, ii. 409 f., 448, 

_ 461, 

Rheims, ii. 107, 405 f. 

| Rhodes, i. 25; ii. 370: 

| Rhossus, ii. 287, 290. 

Rimini, ii. 392, 411. 

Romagna, ii. 395 if 

Rome, i. 4 f. (Jews in), 

| 20, 244 f., 448 
(schools at), 463 f. ; 
ii, 185 f, 192 f. 
(Jews in), 228 f., 
243, 379 ff., 418 f., 
439 (Mithraism), 
458 f. 

Rostoces, ii. 312. 

Rotarium, ii. 432. 

Rouen, ii. 404. 


/Rucuma, ii. 429. 


Rusicade, ii, 429. 


Sabaria, ii. 377. 

Sabrata, ii. 430. 

Sadagolthina, ii. 338. 

Sagalbina, ii. 440. 

Sais, ii. 307 f. 

Salamis (Cyprus), ii. 
243, 291. 

Salavia, ii. 439. 

Salerno, ii. 394. 

Salona, ii. 378. 

Salzburg, ii. 378. 

Samaria (land and 
city), i. 58, ii, 249 f,, 
259, 266. 

Samé (Cephallenia), 
ii, 246, 371. 

Samos, i. 2. 

Samosata, ii. 288, 

Sampsame, ii. 2. 

Sanaus, ii. 362, 

Sansorus (?), ii. 355. 





a oo eT 


GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Saragossa, see Czsar- | 
augusta. 
Sardica, ii. 376. 
Sardinia, i, 5. f., 203 ;| 
ii. 393. | 
Sardis, ii. 243, 366 f. 
Sarin, ii. 343. 
Sarmatia, ii. 157. 
Saron, ii. 243. 
Satafis, ii. 434. 
Satala, ii, 344, 
Scarabantia, ii. 377. 
Searphia, ii. 372. 
Schedia, ii. 319. 
Scili (Scilium), ii. 234, 
246, 414 f. 424, 
Scupi, ii. 375. 
Scythia, ii. 81 f., 299, 
379, 461. 
Seythopolis, ii. 
263, 266, 270. 
Sebaste (Armen.), ii. 


259, 


342 f. 
Sema rye.). “i, 
358 f., 362. 


Ms see Samaria. 
Sebennytus, ii. 318. 
Sebulon, ii. 259. 
Segermes, ii. 430. 
Segni, ii. 392. 
Selambina, ii. 440. 





Seleucia (Isaur.), ii. 
369. 
a (Pamphyl. ), 
ii. 369. 
»  (Pisid.), ii. 
363. 
. (Syz:),.* ii, 
245, 288. 
bs Ctesiphon, 


1. 297-£. 
Senlis, ii. 405. 
Sens, ii. 405. 
Sepphoris, see Dioc. 

Palest. 

Serae, ii,-160, 300. 
Seville, ii. 438. 
Shargerd, ii. 298. 


Sibapolis, ii. 298. | 
Siblianoi, ii. 362. 
Sicca, ii. 430. 
Sichar, ii. 259, 268. 
Sichem, ii. 266. 


| Sicilibba, ii. 430. 


Sicily, ii. 392 f., 459. | 
Side, i. 2, ii. 369. 
Sidon, ii. 243, 273. 
Sigus, ii. 430. | 
Sikyon, i. 2. 
Silandus, see Standus. 
Simittu, i. 4. | 
Singidunum, ii. 377. 
Singilia Barba, ii. 440. 
Sinna, ii. 392. 
Sinope, ii. 246, 332 f., 
349. 
Sipontum, ii. 394. 
Sirmium, i. 492, 
377, 396. 
Siscia, ii. 377. 
Sitifis, i, 4; ii. 430, 
433. 


ii. 


Smyrna, i. 3 f., 70, 
238 f, 246 f, ii. 
223 f., 243, 245,| 
366. 


Sodom, ii. 303. 

Soissons, ii. 405. 

Solia, ii. 440. 

Sousse, ii. 434. 

Southern Italy, ii. 379 
f,, 458 f. 

Spain, ii. 244, 319, 





435 f., 460. 
Spania (=Spalia), ii. | 
338. 
Sparta, see Lacede- 
mon. 
Spoleto, ii. 394. 
Standus, ii. 366. 
Stektorion, ii. 362. | 
Stobi, ii. 375. 
Suburburensium gens, | 
ii. 430. 
Sufes, ii. 423, 430. 
Sufetula, ii. 430. | 


487 


Sutunurum, ii. 430. 


Syarba, ii. 369. 


| Sydra, ii. 369. 


Syene, ii. 314 f. 

Synnada, i. 453; ii. 
359, 362. 

Syracuse, ii. 246, 392 f. 

Syria, i. 2 f. (Jews in), 
ii. 376 f. (Christi- 
anity in), 458. 


| Syrtes, ii. 419. 


Tabatha, ii. 267. 
Tabennisi, ii, 216, 316. 
Tanagra, ii. 372, 
Tanis, ii. 318. 
Taormina, ii. 394, 
Taposiris, ii. 313, 319. 
Tarraco, ii. 436. 
Tarraconensis, ii. 437. 
Tarragona, ii. 438 f. 
Tarsus, ii. 80 f., 243, 
324 f. 
Tauche, ii. 319. 
Tauric peninsula, ii. 
379. 
Tavium, ii. 361. 
Teano, ii. 394. 
Tegeea, ii. 372. 
Tell el-Asch’ari, 
254. 
Tentyre, ii. 317. 
Termissus, ii. 369. 
Terni, ii. 394. 
Terracina, ii. 392. 
Teva, ii. 440. 
Thabraca, ii. 430. 
Thagara, ii. 433. 
Thagasté, ii. 433. 
Thagura, ii. 433. 
Thambi, ii. 430. 
Thamogade, ii. 
430. 
Tharasa, ii. 430, 
Thasarte (see following 
word). 
Thasualthe, ii. 430. 
Thautic district, ii, 319. 


il. 


4.22, 


488 


Thebais, see Egypt. 
Thebes, ii. 80 f., 372, 
Sia: 
Thebeste, 
veste. 
Thelea (Thelsea?) ii. 
273. 
Thelebte, ii. 430. 
Themisonium, ii. 362. 
Thene, ii. 422, 430. 
Thera, ii. 370. 
Therasia, ii. 370. 
Thespie, ii. 372. 
Thessalonica, ii. 
374. 
Thessaly, ii. 80 f., 374, 
460. 
Theveste, ii. 214, 430. 
Thibaris, ii. 430. 
Thibiuca, ii. 433. 
Thibiura, ii. 433. 
Thibursicum Buré, ii. 
433. 
Thimida 
431, 
Thinisa, ii, 431. 
Thmuis, ii. 190, 312 f., 
318 f. 
Thrace, ii. 371 f. 
Thubune, ii. 431. 
Thuburbo (minus ? 
maius?), ii. 431, 434. 
Thucca, ii. 431. 
Thuccabor, ii. 431. 
Thunisa, see Thinisa. 


The- 


see 


243, 


il, 


Regia, 


Thyatira, ii. 223, 243, | 


359 f., 367. 
Thysdrus, ii. 122, 414, 
424, 
Tiberias, ii. 260, 261. 
Tiberiopolis, ii. 363. 
Ticabis, ii. 433. 
Tigisis (Numid.), 
432. 
Tingi, ii. 214, 433. 
Tipasa, i, 4; ii, 424, 
ASA. 


il. 





Tizica, ii. 433, 434. 

Todi, ii: 394. 

Toledo, ii. 439. 

Tomi, ii. 377, 379. 

Tongern, ii. 409. 

Toul, ii. 405. 

Toulouse, ii. 403. 

Tours, ii. 403, 405. 

Trajanopolis, ii. 362 f. 

Tralles 6237" £4 ai. 

245. 

Trani, ii. 394. 

Trapezuntum, ii. 353. 

Trastevere, i. 7. 

Tres Taberne, ii. 392. 

Treves, ii. 405 f., 462. 

‘Trieea, .'1.> 13069". 

ao: 

Trimithus, ii. 291 f. 

Tripolis (As.), ii. 367. 
2 a» (Pheen:)5 ve. 

262, 273 f. 


Tripolitana, ii. 420, 
425 f., 461. 

Troas, i. 238 f.3 ii. 
243, 363. 


Troyes, ii, 405. 

Tucea, ii. 431. 

Tucea Terebenthina, 
li, 431. 

Tucci, ii. 439, 440. 

Tuscany, ii. 398. 

Tyana, ii. 338. 

Tymion, ii, 245, 333, 
362. 

Tyre, ii, 243, 272 f. 


Ulia, ii, 440. 

Ululis, ii, 431. 

Umanada ( = Humana- 
des), ii. 369. 

Upper Italy, ii. 395 f,, 
461. 


Urci, ii. 439, 440. 
Ursinum, ii. 392. 
Ursona, ii. 440, 
Uskiib, ii. 375. 





GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX 


Uthina, ii. 414, 424. 

Utica, i. 45 ineaaae 
434, 

Uturnucensis, ii. 430. 

Uzalis, ii. 431, 434. 

Uzappa, ii. 426. 

Uzelis, ii. 431. 


Vade, ii. 431. 

Vaga, ii. 431, 
Vaison, ii. 404. 
Valencia, ii. 436. 
Valentia, see Sanaus. 


he (Gall amg 
402, 
Vallis, ii. 433. 
Vasada, ii. 364. 
Venosa, i. 4123 ii. 


394. 
Vera, ii. 440. 
Vercelli, ii. 396. 
Verdun, ii. 405. 
Verona, ii. 397. 
Verulam, ii. 410. 
Verum, ii, 432. 
Vesontio, ii, 402, 409. 
Victoriana, ii. 431. 
Vicus Augusti, ii, 431. 
Vicus Cesaris, ii. 431. 
Vicuna, ii. 74 f., 246, 
399 f. 
Vine (?), ii, 440, 
Viviers, ii. 405. 
Volubilis, i. 4 (Jews 
in). 


York, ii, 411. 


Zama (regia, minor), 
ii, 431, 432. 

Zanaatha (?), ii, 303. 

Zela, ii. 343, 348, 
361. 

Zeugitana, ii. 420. 

Zeugma, ii. 288. 

Zimara, ii. 343. 


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